The Way I Used To Be -- Reviewed by Sarah Roberts

 

" I don't know that these images flashing through my mind-a movie of someone else, somewhere else-will never really go away, will never ever stop playing, will never stop haunting me."

 

 

 

Sexual assaults happen all over the world. The perpetrator could be your father, uncle, mother, or even your older brother's best friend. Many victims don't speak out, or only gain the courage to speak out when another victim has. That is the case of Eden McCrorey.

 

Eden was always okay with being good. She was in band and loved reading books. Nothing could change that, not even high school. Or so she thought...

 

One night changes everything. One night makes Eden's whole world turn upside-down. What is this fateful night? It's the night that her brother's best friend rapes her. What was once so clear is now complex. What Eden once loved-the person she loved- she now hates with everything in her. Everything she believed to be true, turns out to be nothing but lies.

 

Eden has never felt so alone in her entire life. She knows that she has to tell someone, but she can't seem to bring herself to do that.

 

So she locks it all inside. And she buries the girl she used to be.

 

I thought this book was amazing! I loved how the author chose to tell Eden's story in four parts. We get to go through Eden's freshman year, sophomore year, junior year, and senior year with her -- which is a really brilliant idea. This book will definitely make your emotions run high. You will go from loving Eden, to hating her occasionally, to hating her best friend, and then to understanding her best friend in a sense. I also like how Amber Smith made this book seem realistic. I think that probably some people who have experienced what Eden did, probably have handled it the way she did at first. The only thing that left me on a little cliffhanger was that I wanted to see how Eden's parents handled the whole situation. This is because Kevin ,brother's best friend, was seen as part of the family. He basically became the second son. So I would like to know how the parents handled that betrayal of trust and loyalty. I also would have enjoyed a longer confession to Caelin, Eden's brother. Yes, we see him get pretty emotional, but we don't see that huge talk. So I would've appreciated a little more interaction between the two. All in all, this book was amazing and I would definitely recommend it to all my friends and family.