Almost By Anne Eliot

I almost missed out on a really good book!

I loved this book, even though it confused me initially. She was speaking with so much sarcasm I was like ... "I don't know if I can do this." I was not following at all until Gray's POV and I kinda got back on track.
Still, I powered through and found a really touching story of right and wrong as well as facing your fears.

Almost seems to be the theme of this story and I must hand it to Ms.Eliot for writing such a sensitive topic in a new light, and the placement and roles of the characters were phenomenal!

I am also pleases that for a high school based novel, there was no sex and yet still we were wrapped up in doing summer activities with these characters and to see a teenager trying for a complete opposite goal from most teens at summer time. There was little to no intimacy and I never noticed. It was good all by itself.

Jess was a great character and her story was an interesting and touching one. Most people don't think about those victims who were almost raped, nor do they think of the fall out from such a traumatic experience.
In this novel, we are given an excellent POV of someone trying to put the pieces together after an almost rape.

I was completely enthralled in the events as they occurred and I loved the placements of her nightmares, and how, where and when she put it all together.

Gray is too perfect. Maybe he made a bad decision on the night of the almost rape itself, but still, he did what he thought was his best and the boy definitely made up for it. He was a dream and totally lived up to Jess's bumper sticker ... BBB ... Boys in Books are Better!!

The cover of this book says ... A love story ... but I would like to think of it as A Life Lesson. Trauma comes in all shapes and sizes and its how we deal with it all that makes the difference. We can definitely take some pointers from this novel as Jess story is one to be shared with the world.

Even though we might not have any almost raped support groups or forums, we have 'Almost' by Anne Eliot and believe me it have some lessons.

I liked her writing style and how she kept it all in high school format without over emphasizing or turning the story into adult filled content.
Justice might not have been served in this one, but peace was found and sometimes peace and love can have a lasting effect.

The minor characters were written well and even though it was a small group of characters, they all played they're parts well. I was never annoyed with a character, and I was definitely happy to see them.

Surprisingly, some of my favourite scenes were when Jess was lying to her parents and how it was written to seem like a director directing an orchestra.

The techie side of this novel was in full effect so the techie in me had fun with that one. Great ideas by geekstuff.com ! If they aren't real, you should try and market them. I loved all the products mentioned, especially the bumper stickers. I really hope Ms. Eliot has a road team who gets some made for this awesome novel.

As there was no cliffhanger, I must say I would still read a book 2 for this awesome novel, even a novella! One were we get to see them finish their senior year, and Kika start her freshman year ... wishful thinking I guess!

Still, I believe this was an awesome book that even though it was almost a book about rape, it is up there with the likes of 'What Happens Next' by Colleen Clayton.

I love when a book is beautifully written and you can see the research, time and effort that is placed in the novel. This novel had it in spades, and brought us a book about life, love, decisions and consequences. Sometimes it's best if we face our problems head on and this book helps to show you how.

- http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16112452-almost