Beyond the Break: A Book Review

Three words to describe this book: Christian, cutesy, and conventional. Lovette (what a name) is banned from swimming and surfing in the ocean after her brother's near-fatal surfing accident. She also loves God a lot and signed a purity pledge when she was twelve, saying she doesn't want to kiss anyone until the preacher says, "You may now kiss the bride." But then hunky Jake Evans walks into her life, and she knows she's toast. 

First of all, you have to be really Christian to enjoy this book. There's lots of religious theology, lots of quoted scripture, and lots of "if you have sex before you're married, you're damned" talk. For me, it was too much. Too didactic. A little too problematic, especially with views about sex and kissing. (I don't care what people's views are on this, religious or not, but it drove me crazy that Lovette judged others for their actions.) In general, Lovette just felt like a judgy, Christian teenager who thought she was better than everyone else because she's good at surfing and has a great relationship with God. 

There were also other small things I didn't like. The first chapter is horrible and has really nothing to do with the entire book. There's also a scene in the book that's a carbon copy of a scene in the book/movie A Walk to Remember (which is also Christian, so I'm pretty darn sure the author "borrowed" the scene). Also, Lovette makes a huge deal about how she hates lying in the first couple chapters, but proceeds to do it throughout the whole book without a second thought. And the plot just moves really slowly. This book just wasn't for me. 

Writing Aesthetic/Style: 3
Plot/Movement: 2
Character Development: 2
Overall: 2

Thank you Penguin Workshop and NetGalley for the review copy!

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