Monday 17 November 2014

Review ~ All the Glory by Elle Casey

Reviewed by Donna ~ 4 Stars

“I just thought you could use a friend.”

Even though I am forty, I still love a YA read and this is just that, pure YA at its best. If you are looking for a hot and steamy read, this is not the book for you, but if you want a feel good book with a bit of mystery and suspense, then you will love this one.

Jason Bradley seemingly has it all, he is the school’s first string varsity wide receiver, revered by all, he has the token cheerleader girlfriend, a flash car and an army of followers. He is “the guy” that all others aspire to be and emulate. Well that was the case until he was caught standing over the football coach’s dead body with blood on his hands. Now Jason Bradley has the biggest fight of his life or his life destined to be over?

Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty? That does not matter to this town and soon Jason is ostracized by everyone. His girlfriend dumps him, playing the injured party to the press, his friends are nowhere to be seen, he is just dumped…you know what they say “the bigger you are, the harder you fall,” well Jason falls hard. Nobody gives him the time of day, no one listens to his side of the story but moreover, Jason seems reluctant to actually say what happened. He is adamant his is just going to take what is coming to him, but why? 

“Stop feeling sorry for yourself, butthead. And you can stop being ungrateful while you’re at it, too.”

Katy lives a few doors down from Jason; she has admired him from afar for as long as she can remember but not being part of the “it” crowd means that she is never noticed. Katy keeps herself to herself but she has a sidekick and that is her gay BBF. Katy has a huge heart and it is made from pure gold, despite the adversities she has to fight, she reaches out to Jason, at the end of the day, he needs a friend. Katy refuses to believe that Jason is a cold blooded murderer and the more she really gets to know Jason, the more she is adamant there is more to the story. Can one girl really make a difference?

This book centres round the burgeoning friendship between Jason and Katy and Katy’s fight to find out the truth. There is no sex in this book, this is pure friendship that may or may not lead to more. This was more a suspenseful murder mystery type but on a YA level. Most of all though this book should be read for the positive undertones that it brings to the forefront. In the book world it is always “never judge a book by its cover,” in this book it is “innocent until proven guilty.” People are all too quick to make assumptions whether they are right or wrong, but if you really knew that person as you portray you do you would know that there must have been more to the story than what the rumour mill spreads or the paparazzi print in their newspapers. People were all too quick to dismiss Jason as a murderer but Katy took the time to be the friend that he needed and ended up being totally invaluable. Furthermore we also got to see Jason for the real person that he was, he understood that his friends were “superficial,” he knew they were only friends for what they could free load off the back of his success and social standing and this made him appreciate Katy all the more. She was what he called a “true friend.” This book is all about friendship, being there for each other no matter the cost. Staying true to your ideals and beliefs and trying to be the best person you can.

After finishing this book, I felt good, I loved it.

“The irony is, I had to murder a guy to become a better person.”

Buy Links:

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1yM2z8q
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1EQy1ob

No comments:

Post a Comment