Quirk Review: Counting Backwards by Laura Lascarso (SBB ARC TOUR)

From Goodreads:

Three weeks ago I tried to run away from home. Now all I want is to go back.

When troubled Taylor Truwell is caught with a stolen car and lands in court for resisting arrest, her father convinces the judge of an alternative to punishment: treatment in a juvenile psychiatric correctional facility. Sunny Meadows is anything but the easy way out, and Taylor has to fight hard just to hold on to her sanity as she battles her parents, her therapist, and vicious fellow patients. But even as Taylor struggles to hold on to her stubborn former self, she finds herself relenting as she lets in two unlikely friends-Margo, a former child star and arsonist, and AJ, a mysterious boy who doesn’t speak. In this striking debut, Laura Lascarso weaves together a powerful story of anger and self-destruction, hope and love.

Release Date: August 14th, 2012

A very big thank you to

 SOUTHERN BOOK BLOGGERS ARC TOURS  

for the opportunity to read this book!

PREFACE:

I had not heard of Counting Backwards until I saw it pop up on the Southern Book Bloggers ARC Tour list. I was intrigued by the premise and glad when I got picked to be on the tour. So was this book that flew under my radar deserving of the spotlight?

Definitely.

WRITING:

Lascarso's prose is effortless, at least on the reader's part. Immediately you are put in the mind of the main character, Taylor. Despite the emotional roller coaster Taylor is on and the mess she is in, the words are realistic, making it easy to visualize the events, whether major or minor. Lascarso also laced a lot of emotion and tension into the writing without making it complicated, creating the perfect balance that keeps you reading.

SETTING:

The whole story takes place at Sunny Meadows, which is basically a psychiatric facility and high school rolled into one. I've never heard of a place like this existing, not in this specific manner, so I was a little skeptical of it feeling real. I was impressed that it did. Lascarso again walks a line and does it well. Sunny Meadows felt like an institution, plain and stark and sterile, but there was life in it. It wasn't like how mental facilities are normally portrayed where the employees are cruel or uncaring and the place seems to drain the life out of the inhabitants. Whatever the residents wanted to make out of Sunny Meadows is what they got, and it takes Taylor quite a while to understand this.

CHARACTERS:

In spite of all of Taylor's flaws, and she has some major hang-ups, I loved her. She is incredibly broken and is so in her own way that it is heartbreaking. But she is also a fighter and I loved her determination, even when she was completely in the wrong. She has a lot to deal with, a stern father, an alcoholic mother, her "episodes," and trying to understand herself and where she fits in to her family and her Native American heritage. Taylor wages war on everyone and everything, especially herself, but eventually she grows and her journey is so amazing and definitely one worth taking.

Another character I absolutely adored, and one that is now up there on my all-time favorite boys of YA, is AJ. Seriously one of the best male love interests ever. I wasn't expecting to like him, let alone love him, but he is worth every bit of ink that is devoted to him in the book. Not only that, his relationship with Taylor is so genuine and raw. It was exciting and frustrating and so much fun.

The other characters in the novel are great too, whether friend or foe to Taylor. They feel like real people, which makes their actions and relationships ring true as well as make things complicated. I have to mention Margo, who was a favorite of mine because she is just spectacular. Just read the book and you'll see why.

COOL STUFF:

I've covered pretty much everything awesome about this story, so I just want to mention how much I love the cover. Before reading it, I liked the simplicity but thought it was a little strange for a contemporary story. But after reading, the cover makes perfect sense as it exemplifies the duplicity Taylor exhibits throughout the story. The back of the book also has an image that relates to a specific event in the novel and I thought that was really neat.

VERDICT:
I am so glad I had the opportunity to read Counting Backwards. Lascarso does a masterful job of capturing the twisting and changing nature of people and she digs deep into all that Taylor was, is, and wants to be. Often it isn't pretty and it can be extremely frustrating watching Taylor ruin things for herself again and again. But ultimately, this is a story of redemption and hope, and it is definitely worth the time and will leave you thinking well after the last page.