What If I Go?
By Polly White
*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
This is a book that everyone should read. Part of me wanted to say that every girl should read it, every Christian should read it, every college student should read it, every parent should read it… but the truth is that there is a lesson for everyone in this book and its tragic, painful, and raw with emotion.
What If I Go? Is a roller coaster coming-of-age novel about a young woman named Grace. Kind, innocent Grace only wants to pursue her education and her dreams in the UK—but she wouldn’t mind finding love along the way. Fortunately for her, she does find it in a seductive young man named Zul. Unfortunately … Zul is the last person she should surrender her heart to.
In this painfully honest story, audiences watch Grace’s life spiral out of control as she makes one bad decision after another. Innocence is tainted, light becomes darkness, trust is betrayed, and hope destroyed as our protagonist fights a string of battles and loses—repeatedly. Sex, drugs, alcohol, and abuse are just a few of the problems Grace finds herself tangled up in. The sad part of this story is that things never really get better for Grace. She is a completely lost cause and we are forced to sit and watch and hope that she can somehow make it out of her circumstances. Even more painful… this is not an uncommon tale.
The very depressing truth is that Grace is not a special case. How many young adults venture off expecting to find love and success and are instead handed a plate of worms? I believe there is a little bit of Grace in all of us—a gentle light hoping for more, trusting a little too much, believing in every smile we see. Sometimes we allow ourselves to get hurt by being too nice. I’m not sure if that makes us or the world sad but it’s the truth.
My heart goes out to our protagonist and especially to our wonderful author for bringing this story to light in its painful, raw truth. This book was written incredibly well with a gifted hand. I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to read and review it.
I would recommend this book to mature readers and those who enjoy coming-of-age tales.