Tuesday, July 03, 2012

Review: Knee Deep by Jolene Perry



We all know it’s Shawn and Ronnie forever.

Shawn and Ronnie have been in love since they’re twelve years old. Shawn is Ronnie’s first kiss, first love, first boyfriend, and first everything. Shawn was once the sweet boy who prepared Ronnie a very special picnic because he said the coolest girl in the world needs the most perfect spot for her first kiss. Ronnie believes that twenty years after, she would still be with Shawn, in love.

This is their senior year and Shawn starts acting weird. He is easily irritated, irrationally possessive, and tense all the time. His outbursts start leaving bruises on Ronnie’s body. Ronnie keeps making excuses for Shawn’s strange behaviors. It must be temporary, because she can still see glimpses of the guy he fell in love with. Love means keeping up with your loved one in the hard time… right?

Things begin spinning out of control, and Ronnie is desperate to fix everything and has her perfect life back. Ronnie plays Juliet in a play while her best friend, Luke, plays Romeo. Shawn is the love of her life, but why does her heart flutter every time she sees Luke? Why does everything feel so easy and comfortable with Luke? When Ronnie’s and Juliet’s feeling mingle, she can’t see the difference between Juliet’s lines and her words anymore on stage.

Knee Deep is the kind of book that will suck you from the first passage. The descriptive words are beautiful and the atmosphere between the characters is so thick. I keep feeling that something bad is going to happen, and the tension makes me uneasy, nervous, and breathless at the same time.

It’s not like I can’t understand Ronnie. She’s a character I like from the beginning. She has overwhelming desire to fix anything wrong so she has always been the first who offers peace after her argument with Shawn. I think deep down, Ronnie has already known that there’s a crack in their relationship. She only refuses to see the crack, because she’s supposed to have her happy ending with Shawn.

They are in a destructive relationship, and throughout the book I just want Ronnie to admit it. Shawn might be Ronnie’s perfect guy once, but now, he’s a ticking bomb waiting to explode. For the life of Ronnie, I just want to shout out at her to please, please do what you know you have to do if you want to save your life.

Knee Deep is a wonderful book and I admire how much the characters’ feeling exposed in the story. Ronnie does make mistakes, but in the end she learns that sometimes, some things are not meant to be. This book deals with fairly hard issues and I’m very glad to tell you that the result is amazing.

There’s something incredible about being loved by someone I’ve known for so long. Like he knows me, loves me, and yeah, it’s this thing I can count on. Solid. Stable.








I rate this book:
Four cups of tea. Amazing! Love the book, it’s simply awesome. I love the tea flavor!  A strong recommendation.

 
Many thanks to Tribute Books and Jolene Perry who have kindly provided me a copy of this book! :)

25 comments:

  1. I'm really glad you liked this book, Hilda. It was a very sad story wasn't it, but at the end I was happy for Ronnie.
    I agree that the book had a wonderful atmosphere to it and I can't wait to see what Jolene Perry has for readers in the future.
    Beautiful review, Hilda ! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm so happy you liked this book! It was fantastic. Although it was sad at times, I was happy with the way it ended!

    Great review, Hilda!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I had a tough time reading this one too Hilda, but you did such an awesome job reviewing it! <3! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Awesome review. This sounds like an intense read but something that I would really enjoy. It's great when characters make you feel so strongly even if it's when you want to yell at them.

    Great cover too...Ronnie looks so sweet and innocent. Beautiful.

    -Lauren

    ReplyDelete
  5. Such a brilliant review, Hilda! I completely agree with you about this book. I was sucked into the story too and loved the scenes between Luke and Ronnie. Like you, I just wanted Ronnie to open her eyes finally and realise the obvious. It was frustrating in that aspect, but I still loved this. Great review! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Replies
    1. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book, Nicole! :)

      Delete
  7. Wow, great review! <3 This seems like a really nice book, though I haven't heard of it before. Thanks for sharing this with us! It's great that there's emotional exposure ;) that's a good sign

    Vivian @ Vivaciously, Vivian

    ReplyDelete
  8. I haven't heard of this book it does sound wonderful! I love that it made you so emotional. Fantastic review, Hilda!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lovely review, Hilds! This sounds beautiful yet really sad at the same time, your review reminded me of Dreamland by Sarah Dessen. I have to read this now!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Gosh I'm not sure how I'd feel after reading this book. It's really hard for me to relate to these kinds of stories because I know I wouldn't be able to put up with it. But I know it would be difficult to get out of a relationship you've been in since you were so young. I hope it has a happy ending for Ronnie.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I haven't heard of this yet but don't know if it's a story I could really relate to. However, I'm really curious about the characters!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hilda, I've been wanting read this for a while. I love Jolene's writing and the story's description sounded amazing. Your lovely review has me moving it up in the line! :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Fantastic review Hilda! I love the sound of Ronnie being an actress! This definately sounds like a fun romantic story!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks for the review Hilda! I hadn't heard of this one yet. I find it so hard to read or review books about abusive relationships. Even if it is a good book, I just get so upset by the whole thing. You did a really great job reviewing this though! It sounds like the writer did a really good job of creating deep characters, emotional tension, and beautiful writing.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I haven't read your review because I'll be reading this soon myself, but glad to see you gave it four cups of tea :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Awww, Hilda, this book sounds so absolutely sweet! Sometimes it's really hard to read about abusive relationships because it makes me upset that they do that kind of thing. But at the same time, it's enlightening, you know? I'll probably be right behind you, wishing that Ronnie would admit it and cheering when she finally does! :)

    Beautiful review, Hilda! It's being added to my TBR pile now <3

    ReplyDelete
  17. What a sweet review, Hilda! <3 This really sounds like such a wonderful book. So sad that the main character has to live with an abusive relationship. It'll give a lot to think, it seems :) But that Romeo and Juliet scene plus the other guy, Luke, make this book even more exciting. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I hope I can read it soon and like it as well :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. This book sounds really deep and emotional! I've read very few books about abusive relationships, which makes me sad, because I know this is such an important topic. I'll definitely be picking this one up, especially because there's a play involved! ;) I always love plays and performances in books, I always think that it's so neat. =)

    Fabulous review, Hilda! I will definitely be picking this book up. <3

    -Aneeqah @ My Not So Real Life

    ReplyDelete
  19. Although I have never heard of this book I think it sounds like a very interesting novel after reading your review! First of all I just love the cover and WOW based on your review the author seems to have great story telling skills! The narrative sounds so vivid and the the characters sound so complex. This book seems like such an emotional novel with a dark subject.

    LOL it is so funny that your most recent review is for a book with such a serious theme and the review I just posted today is about a book with a storyline similar to this!!!

    SeeitORreadit

    ReplyDelete
  20. This sounds like such a heavy, emotional read that I would really enjoy. I've seen a lot of TV dramas where girls stick by the guys they love even though they know it's wrong - after all, people say 'love is blind' Shawn sounds like such a lovely guy and it must be awful for Ronnie to see him turn into a 'monster' and I'm eager to see who she ends up with in the end - Luke or Shawn.

    Beautiful review as always, Hilda <3

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oh, this book sounds so amazing! From the cover, I wouldn't have expected it to be such a heavy read. I haven't read many heavy contemporaries, but this one sounds like a must read. I'm glad Ronnie is likable. I hope I like this book as much as you did when I get to it! Fantastic review, Hilda! <3 :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Oh. My. God. This book sounds intense. It sounds very realistic for the main character to expect Shawn's outbursts to be temporary, given their history... and I wonder how she comes out of it. Fantastic review, Hilda! The writing sounds amazing :) <33

    ReplyDelete
  23. While I've heard of Jolene Perry, I haven't actually read any of her books. Knee Deep's summary and cover sounds really interesting! I hope I get the chance to read it soon!

    Awesome review, Hilda! ♥ Glad you enjoyed it! :)

    ReplyDelete
  24. I've seen this on Amazon, and have been dying to read it. I'm glad you liked it.

    ReplyDelete

I enjoy hearing your opinion so please leave a comment! I will do my best to return the favor, and sometimes I also reply here. Please don't hesitate to share your fabulous thought with me ♥

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...