Left Drowning by Jessica Park is a vast departure from her debut novel,
Flat Out Love. With that said, it is still a very well written story
about two damaged souls, Blythe & Chris, whom are connected together
by fate…both have experienced great tragedy for which they approach
life with reckless abandon.
Since the tragic death of her
parents, Blythe has isolated herself completely from any and all
social/personal relationships. She is hyper-aware of her depressive
state and self-destructive behaviors, but is too emotionally empty to
care and is unable to pull herself out of the black hole in which she is
submersed.
Chris on the other hand does not outwardly express
his despair, but his experiences have shattered him in a different way,
which also leaves him with an emotional void and a certain sense of
melancholy.
An accidental encounter with Chris ignites a light
in Blythe’s darkness and an unexplained feeling of hope surfaces. There
is an undeniable emotional connection between them and a passionate and
poignant friendship is developed. Blythe finally begins to reconcile
the tragedy she experienced and attempts to rebuild her life.
Unfortunately, as Blythe comes to terms with her loss and finds herself
on solid ground, Chris is sinking deeper into his own abyss. He slowly
begins to distance himself from her both physically and emotionally…
Blythe provides him with the space he needs, but is determined to save
him from himself as he saved her.
“We have been drowning in each other. In beautiful ways, yes. But I know there are other reasons for this intensity.”
Both
Chris & Blythe are very well developed characters in this story.
Jessica Park gives extremely descriptive background details providing
immense insight into these two characters and who they are as
individuals and why they ‘tick’ the way they do. Due to the contextual
facet of the main characters, the story does get off to a really slow
start, but definitely picks up…getting to know the characters though is a
critical aspect to connecting with the story itself.
Unlike most
other stories, the secondary characters in Left Drowning are vital to
the plot as they play a critical role in Bythe’s healing process. These
characters, primarily Chris’ siblings, are not as acutely written, but
as the story unfolds, the reader begins to somewhat understand their
personalities, temperaments and behaviors. In typical Jessica Park
fashion, all the characters are likable and you cannot help but root for
them all!
The story is mostly told from Blythe’s POV, with only a
brief appearance of Chris’ perspective towards the very end of the
story. I appreciated getting Chris’ perception of the girl on the dock
as he recounts his heartbreaking experiences growing up with his dad. I
would have liked to have had his POV regarding his first encounter with
Blythe at Mathews College… I think it would have provided insight to his
reaction to her…Blythe explained what initially pulled her to him, but
what pulled him to her?
