The Gist
Daelyn Rice wants to die. She’s tired of being bullied and called the freak. She wants out. She’s tried to kill herself countless times, and every time she failed. She needs a surefire exit strategy. And she finds one online. Called www.through-the-light.com, the site is for ‘completers’, and people who genuinely want to die. They receive a completion date, get ideas on how to die, and can post about what happened to them that made them want to die. Daelyn starts distancing herself from her parents and the world, making her way towards the way out. But then she meets Santana, a boy she can’t wrap her head around. She makes it very clear she doesn’t want anything to do with him, but he just won’t leave. It’s too late for Daelyn to be saved, especially by some boy pretending to like her. No one would actually like her enough to talk to her. If only he would understand that and let her make her exit in peace.
What We Think
Reviewed by Living Destiny
Number of Pages: 200
I wasn’t really sure if I liked Daelyn or not. She was incredibly cynical. I mean, I’m cynical, yes, but Daelyn took it to a whole new level. She trusted no one. If someone tried to talk to her at all, she would think of some diabolical, underlying reason for it. It could never just be because they wanted to talk to her, it had to be because they wanted to make fun of her or abuse her. It was equally annoying and interesting. I can’t imagine actually thinking like that, and I’m not an overly trusting person. I definitely felt bad for her, though. Her life was horrible. She describes it mostly through the entries she makes on the through-the-light forums, and it sounds awful. She’s teased for being fat, her parents don’t exactly help, and she moves all the time during her childhood because her parents hope it will help her (which it doesn’t). The only other really big character was Santana. Unlike Daelyn, I know exactly what I think of Santana. I loved him. He was such a goofy person, always telling jokes and trying to get Daelyn to like him. He’s one of those characters that I look at and think, ‘if he was real he’d be my best friend.’ He’s that likable. Also, one of the smaller characters really stuck out for me. Her name was Emily, and she was a girl in Daelyn’s school who was trying to be friends with Daelyn. She is an outcast (like Daelyn), but very sweet. She seems a little naïve, but she has a big heart, and I liked her a lot too. So now the plot. The whole ‘this is about a suicidal chick’ thing is sort of a turn off. And I admit when I would read it I’d get a little depressed. But I think it’s good too, because everyone can relate to it. I mean, let’s tell the truth here: everyone has felt like they want to die at one point or another. It’s just how life goes. There are those terrifying moments of depression where you just want the pain to end, and you start to think about how easy it would be to just exit stage left, and start over. Anyone who says they’ve never felt that is flat out lying. Seeing it written out somehow makes it easier to cope with. The concept of a website for suicidal people is strange, but I liked it. Also, I liked all the details about Daelyn’s life, and how her reasons for attempted suicide were included. As the story goes on she opens up more, and you learn all the lurid details about her experiences with bullying. The way the story was written was interesting. Daelyn pretty much never spoke in the book, so a lot of it is what she’s thinking. I like that because it gives a huge amount of insight into the mind of a depressed girl, which was a good way of telling the story. If it had been told any other way, I don’t think I’d feel informed enough. I was satisfied with the ending too. It wasn’t totally perfect, but nothing ever ends perfectly (except in fiction books), so I appreciated how it was realistic. This book is a flash of hope in a dark tunnel, and in a bizarre way it made me feel better about my life. It’s meant for high schoolers, and I think that most high schoolers would enjoy it, but I’m sure there are lots of adults who would like and understand it too. In spite of its dark topic choice, this book was incredibly enjoyable, and I really liked it.
Real Teen Reviews~ B+: Wait for vacation
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