One of the most powerful stories about friendship I’ve ever read. What a debut.
Beautiful Broken Things Summary
I was brave
She was reckless
We were trouble
Best friends Caddy and Rosie are inseparable. Their differences have brought them closer, but as she turns sixteen Caddy begins to wish she could be a bit more like Rosie – confident, funny and interesting. Then Suzanne comes into their lives: beautiful, damaged, exciting and mysterious, and things get a whole lot more complicated. As Suzanne’s past is revealed and her present begins to unravel, Caddy begins to see how much fun a little trouble can be. But the course of both friendship and recovery is rougher than either girl realises, and Caddy is about to learn that downward spirals have a momentum of their own.
Beautiful Broken Things Review
I read Beautiful Broken Things late last year for a My Kinda Book book club event (which was amazing fun by the way, so keep an eye out for more in the future because they’re about to open up to everyone. One is happening in Brighton in February!). But even though it’s been a few months since I read it, I’m still in love with this book. It’s so powerful and so honest that I’m sure it’ll stay with me for many years.
It’s a gorgeous story of completely and utterly believable friendship between three very different girls with very different backgrounds, families and vulnerabilities. Romance isn’t important here, it’s all about getting to know these complex characters and their relationships with one another.
Sara Barnard approaches the subjects of mental health and abuse with such finesse, delicately enough to bring comfort to those who’ve experienced it through its relatable characters, yet brutally enough to be eye-opening to those who haven’t. You won’t find any sugar-coating here, but you will find a satisfyingly heart-warming feeling that’ll make you want to go out and hug all your friends once you’ve finished it. It’s honest and thought-provoking, and takes you through whole range of emotions as you turn the pages, and I expect you’ll shed a tear or two like I did.
Just finished @saramegan‘s Beautiful Broken Things. Wow. ����❤️ what a debut.
— Ashleigh Allsopp (@AshleighAllsopp) December 11, 2015
At the MKB book club, Sara was there to chat about her book, and one of the questions asked was who our favourite character out of the three girls was. I think my favourite is Rosie, but it’s incredible how many different favourites the group had. Sara said hers was Suzanne, which is one of the reasons I’m so excited for everyone to read this novel – so many people are going to love it because no matter what your personality, background or situation, there’s always going to be someone to relate to.
Sara Barnard is without doubt an author to watch. This is one of the most incredible debuts I’ve ever read. I can’t wait to find out what she’s working on next.
Beautiful Broken Things is set to be released on 11 February. You can pre-order your copy here.
My rating:
***** 5/5 stars
Beautiful Broken Things is featured in this video:
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Oh, that sounds like an interesting read! I love when a book can have several different characters all worthy of being someone’s favourite, it offers so much to the reading experience.This is definitely going on my Goodreads list 😉
Erin
http://sexycardi.blogspot.ca
This sounds like a great read. There aren’t nearly enough books that are just about friendship and that manage to leave romance out of it. 🙂
Author
Tell me about it! I completely love books about friendship at the moment. Have you tried Roomies or Remix? Those are both great friendship stories too 🙂
I haven’t but I’ll look out for them!