Book Review: As She Fades by Abbi Glines

Vale and her boyfriend, Crawford, were hit by a car on high school graduation night and he's in a coma. They've been together since practically kindergarten, and had their lives together all planned out. She spends all day at the hospital, although Crawford's mother is angry with her and will barely let her see him. While there, she meets Slate, a guy from her older brother's fraternity, who is visiting his dying uncle, and they become friends.

In the fall, she reluctantly decides she needs to start college without him, and move on with her life. At college, everyone is shocked that she's friends with Slate, a notorious man-slut with no female friends, just conquests. And her brother of course keeps his eye on them. And then, there's a massive twist. So I'm done with plot description.

This book I didn't love. I am trying to think back to when I was seventeen and decide if I'd have liked it then, and I think I would have liked it more But I'd have liked to see more dimensionality in the characters, more agency in Vale (although that does improve through the course of the book), much more development of Crawford who remains an enigma throughout. And the fraternity is never, ever called "Kappa Sigma." What a mouthful! It's always, always "Kappa Sig" at every college in the country. I know that's a finicky complaint, but it's minor errors like that that bring the reader out of the story.

This review is a part of Kid Konnection, hosted by Booking Mama, a collection of children's book-related posts over the weekend.

This book is published by Macmillan, my employer.