I finished a book today called Before I Break by Alec John Belle, who is insanely nice.
When religiously raised Cyril Hayes begins his junior year at East Hill High School, every choice he makes suffers a greater consequence, and while facing challenges of friends, family, and love, learns that hate and intolerance are also a very large part of our world today.
Cyril Hayes is seemingly just like any other male his age. He has the perfect girlfriend, Melissa Summers, his best friend, Jake Rivers, and a lawyer father who brings home enough money to support his family and then some. When Cyril begins his junior year, he doesn't expect his life to spiral out of control when he meets Avery Branson, the new kid in school who has a big secret: he's gay. At first, Cyril doesn't handle this truth well, due to the way he was raised, but as the story progresses, he ventures deep into the reality of homosexuality and begins to accept Avery for who he is.
Not everyone is happy with Cyril's new friend, including Jake, who believes that homosexuality is a sin and is refusing to budge his beliefs. But Avery isn't the only one at East Hill with secrets, and soon a tragedy will strike, knocking Cyril's world completely off balance and leaving a scar on his heart that will change his view of humanity all together.
(Not mine, is description on back of the book)
This book deserves all the stars. It's incredibly unique in plot and in format. I loved the poem interludes and the topics that were discussed. Also the development of characters was wonderful, especially Cyril.
Now the plot in one word...awesome. Also you get all the feels or at least I did. The characters and topics where what stood out the most. Cyril is a homophobic character that experiences a insane amount of change. He grows and develops in some strange ways. Also you cannot help hating him at first, but his development is what makes you want to know more about him and his journey. Avery was also amazing and one of my favorite characters. He has to deal with so many hardships and with those hardships you have to deal with certain topics that are not discussed enough in my option. Melissa, can I just say she will be my women crush of the week. She is so strong and stands up for what she believes in and that is amazing. These happen to be some of favorite my characters...
So for my final words, I'll leave you with this. You should read this book, not just because I thought it was great but because it will bring up topics that need to be discussed. So by reading this book, you can discuss these topics with others, who will then continue the conversation. Also I want to shout out to Alec for his success in getting his first book out and I cannot wait to read his novella, The Winter of Harms, and his paranormal series, The Forbidden Darkness Chronicles!
Favorite Quote: "You taught me that this world is not about gay people being accepted by us, but rather us being accepted by you."
When religiously raised Cyril Hayes begins his junior year at East Hill High School, every choice he makes suffers a greater consequence, and while facing challenges of friends, family, and love, learns that hate and intolerance are also a very large part of our world today.
Cyril Hayes is seemingly just like any other male his age. He has the perfect girlfriend, Melissa Summers, his best friend, Jake Rivers, and a lawyer father who brings home enough money to support his family and then some. When Cyril begins his junior year, he doesn't expect his life to spiral out of control when he meets Avery Branson, the new kid in school who has a big secret: he's gay. At first, Cyril doesn't handle this truth well, due to the way he was raised, but as the story progresses, he ventures deep into the reality of homosexuality and begins to accept Avery for who he is.
Not everyone is happy with Cyril's new friend, including Jake, who believes that homosexuality is a sin and is refusing to budge his beliefs. But Avery isn't the only one at East Hill with secrets, and soon a tragedy will strike, knocking Cyril's world completely off balance and leaving a scar on his heart that will change his view of humanity all together.
(Not mine, is description on back of the book)
This book deserves all the stars. It's incredibly unique in plot and in format. I loved the poem interludes and the topics that were discussed. Also the development of characters was wonderful, especially Cyril.
Now the plot in one word...awesome. Also you get all the feels or at least I did. The characters and topics where what stood out the most. Cyril is a homophobic character that experiences a insane amount of change. He grows and develops in some strange ways. Also you cannot help hating him at first, but his development is what makes you want to know more about him and his journey. Avery was also amazing and one of my favorite characters. He has to deal with so many hardships and with those hardships you have to deal with certain topics that are not discussed enough in my option. Melissa, can I just say she will be my women crush of the week. She is so strong and stands up for what she believes in and that is amazing. These happen to be some of favorite my characters...
So for my final words, I'll leave you with this. You should read this book, not just because I thought it was great but because it will bring up topics that need to be discussed. So by reading this book, you can discuss these topics with others, who will then continue the conversation. Also I want to shout out to Alec for his success in getting his first book out and I cannot wait to read his novella, The Winter of Harms, and his paranormal series, The Forbidden Darkness Chronicles!
Favorite Quote: "You taught me that this world is not about gay people being accepted by us, but rather us being accepted by you."
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