Update: I am changing my rating from 4 stars to 3. For some reason this book keeps creeping into my thinker and I'm starting to doubt my own enjoyment of the story. I'm also starting to remember things I didn't like so much. I think the romantic aspect of this book gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling but that is wearing off with time and I'm left feeling skeevy because of some of the happenings. I definitely still enjoyed the book and I still think it is well written and has great characters. And I would still recommend people give it a try if they're interested.- - -
I wasn't expecting Hopeless to go the way that it ended up going. I'm a little shocked that there are so many people going all googley over the relationship between Holder and Sky as if that is the most important part of this book. I get that he's supposed to be smokin' hot and he says all the right things and is the perfect bad boy who is secretly a softy but seriously their relationship is FUCKED UP. The events in this book are fucked up. And I get that their relationship takes center stage but I honestly never felt like that was the point of this book. To me, the point of the book is Sky's past and how it connects with Holder and how the two of them work through what has happened.
This is probably one of the most tragic books I have ever read.
I can't really say anything about the plot itself without giving things away so I'm just going to go over a couple points I liked and a couple I didn't.
Pros
This book is very well written. Everyone is well rounded and lifelike, even the supporting characters. I also really enjoyed them all as in I liked them as people. No one was an unnecessary asshole causing problems for the sake of causing problems.
The story is fast paced and there were only a few parts that felt like they dragged a bit but I think those needed to be there to explain what the characters were going through.
There is a lot of raw emotion in this book and I felt it was expressed beautifully. A perfect example of this is the way Holder talks about his sister's death. He is heartbroken that she decided to take her own life but he is also confused, filled with guilt and kind of hates her for what she did
Cons
I felt that some of the dialogue was unrealistic. There were a couple big speeches that were a bit much. They didn't ruin the feel of the book for me but they made the characters come across as oddly self aware. I also felt like some parts read like a textbook or self help book. These characters are working through extremely tragic events that are life shattering but they all manage to heal themselves and each other in an incredibly short amount of time. I don't know many people who would be able to get past what happened so easily. Sky's revelations about her life seemed like something that could only happen after years of introspection and therapy.
The plot also lined itself up a bit too perfectly. I understand that a good book ties everything together at the end and ensures there is no unfinished business but there were some pretty big coincidences.
So...
All in all I really enjoyed this book. I think had I known what it was really about I wouldn't have picked it up because I tend to avoid sad stories. That being said I am glad I did read it. It's a bit heavy but it is good. It kind of feels weird saying that I enjoyed reading it considering the story, but enjoy it I did.
