THE WAY I USED TO BE ~ BY AMBER SMITH

Read from 07 June~ 10 June

● The book is about a teenager who got raped by her brother’s bestfriend and
childhood friend, so this is someone she trusted. She doesn’t tell anyone and she
starts sleeping with anyone thinking that she is controlling the narrative about her
sexual life. {Eden got raped }.

● What did I learn from the book; if you don’t deal with things, they will take from you.
Healing your wounds and admitting you have an issue doesn’t mean you are weak, it
simply means you are patient with yourself…

○ By Eden not dealing with the issue at hand [ the rape ] she ended up loosing
her innocence, loosing herself while lying to herself that she is in control of
her sexual life…ended up doing things she didnt want to do, just to prove a
point.

● This book brought a rollercoaster of emotions, cried so much while reading it { cried
when Eden wanted Josh but she knew she needed to heal herself and be her own
woman }…was so angry when Eden started to sleep with guys just for the sake of
doing it like “ wtf Leo “ …made me happy when Josh was there for Eden when she
needed him.

● Plot twist

● The story kept me guessing because you would think Eden is about to tell someone
about the rape, just to notice that she is about to do the most annoying thing
instead…e.g’ start smoking, sleeping with everyone,

● The story was frustrating at the end because it was a cliffhanger. Will Eden manage
to deal with the rape, will she go for therapy, will she finally get her friends to
understand why she finally changed.

○ I would suggest this book to young readers. I wish i had read this book in my
early teen years, probably eighteen years, would have prepared me for the
world ahead. Would have given me a different perspective to life as a teenage
girl in her early uni years.
IT ENDS WITH US ~ BY COLLEEN HOVER
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IT STARTS WITH US ~ BY COLLEEN HOOVER
ALL YOUR PER