Maybe it’s just because I’m a sucker for novels-in-verse, having been spoiled by Sonya Sones’ spectacular writing style, but ‘Things Left Unsaid’ by Stephanie Hemphill made me thrilled to be able to pick up another author’s verse and feel just as compelled as I do when reading anything by Sones.
The main character in ‘Things Left Unsaid’ is Sarah, who has decided to shed her outer good-girl exterior and embrace going against everything she always felt was the right thing to do. No longer does she care about her grades in school or how she’s seen by friends or family. Instead, she’d rather hang out with Robin, a friend who doesn’t seem to have limits and finds herself drowning in dangerous issues as the novel progresses. Sarah’s other friends, Amanda and Gina, are polar opposites in and of themselves, so it’s not easy for Sarah to be swayed by either one of them, for they find it hard to come to a consensus to help bring Sarah back to the “right path,” whatever that might be.
Robin’s brushes with danger, including a suicide attempt, make Sarah re-think everything she’s been doing the whole year through. She finds her relationships faltering, not necessarily of her own doing. Gina, especially, seems more of a “frenemy” more often than not, clearly going for the things that Sarah most wants, including Derek Crawford. Despite hanging out with Gina, Hemphill’s verse makes it clear that he is interested in Sarah. It’s just how to make that transition happen that is the hard part.
Sarah finds herself more learning than once in this novel about growing up, learning how to accept who you are and what you stand for, and the power of friendship. I highly recommend ‘Things Left Unsaid,’ and I definitely plan to read Hemphill’s other novels-in-verse. A captivating read that takes you from August to May of one school year with grace and determination to show that everything can turn out the way you want it to if you set your mind on achieving what you really want – and not what others might see as best for you.
You can find ‘Things Left Unsaid’ by Stephanie Hemphill on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1GX5K3l