Review: Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown

Title/ Author: Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown             

Publication Date: July 10, 2012

Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Source: Public library

Rating: 5/5 jerky sticks


Ever since I became engrossed in Hate List, I have been hungry for more Jennifer Brown books. When Bitter End was to be released, I knew the exact release date for weeks in advance. She is, hands down, one of my all time favourite authors, and I've had no trouble comparing her to Jodi Picoult, who is another one of "the greats". Jennifer Brown writes books that touch on every subject other authors won't go near with a ten foot pole, and for that, I commend her. It's part of what makes me love her, and all of her characters. They're unique and special in both their personalities and problems.

This book did not fall short, let me tell you.

Kendra has always felt like the eldest, rather than youngest, in her family, or at least the one who takes the brunt of all the problems. See, her older brother, Grayson, suffers from (severe, in my opinion) OCD. He is constantly counting, running away, cleaning, and twitching. In many ways, he's not exactly what their family was looking for in terms of the perfect child, so that role has always fallen to Kendra, who picks up the pieces every time something goes wrong. When all of the pressure gets to be too much, Kendra snaps, and takes Grayson with her on a road trip to remember.

To be brutally honest here, my first thought when reading the description was Oh no! Really? because the last thing I wanted to read was another road trip book. But then I thought about it, and I realized that this one was quite different from any other type of road trip book. This one wasn't about star crossed lovers traveling across the country together because somebody died, nor was it about best friends traveling thousand of kilometers to heaven knows where. This was the complete opposite, in which a sister forces a brother against his will to travel to some unknown place because they're running away from their problems, or at least attempting to.

I loved Kendra, and I adored Grayson! Getting quite personal here, I suffer from anxiety, and so I tended to side with Grayson plenty more than I did Kendra, although it was quite nice to see what it is like from the perspective of somebody watching a mental breakdown, or watching somebody they love be different from the rest of the world. For those of you who don't suffer from any sort of mental illness (FUN FACT: That would be 4 in 5 of you!), then you'll have an accurate representation of what it's like to be trapped within your own head. However, I was able to relate with both Kendra and Grayson during different point of the book, and I just loved that! How awesome it when you completely understand what the character is talking about?

One thing that I would very much like to talk about, however, was the writing style. There were many times that I didn't agree in the slightest with what Kendra was saying. That being said, I got the sense that the author didn't either, and I found that rather interesting. I mean, the character was born from the author's mind, right? So shouldn't she have the same thoughts and opinions as the author would? But no! She didn't, and that was a wonderful way to write, because it allowed her room to grow! If the author wrote everything she believed in at the very beginning, she would have no more knowledge left to have her character believe in anything else, different, or new. I hope this post is making sense to the lot of you, and if it isn't, I apologize. I'm dead tired, and as I'm writing this, I'm speaking it aloud in a British accent. Are bloggers allowed to say that in their blogs? Perhaps not, but I'm not just any blogger. Also, if this post sounds slightly British to you, you can understand why.

Back on track here, I just loved the entire book! Please read it, and support Jennifer Brown's magnificent writing! She's an excellent author that not many individuals have heard of. Whether you're a male or a female, you'll just adore this book among all of her others.

Happy Reading (and shout out to the British fans out there!)
-Liz