★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

the summer i turned into a domestic terrorist!!!

genre: historical fiction

age range: 18+

this book was RIVOTING. i swear. for a debut especially, i was truly blown away. though to be honest, i didn't really enjoy the final 20% of the book for Reasons I Cannot Say. but generally, i felt like it slogged, hence the four star rating. the ending is meant to be the most fast paced part but it felt like a 100 page epilogue that i truly did not give a shit about. everything else? perfection.

anyways, the plot of this book? basically, spoiled teenage severine, daughter of a corsican politician, is kidnapped and held for ransom by communist rebels. when their plans to exchange her for their desired rewards falls through, severine winds up joining the very rebels who kidnapped her.

is it stockholm syndrome, or do they actually have a point? maybe a bit of both. anyways, we get to see our girl severine spiral into more and more radical acts of domestic terrorism and understand why she may be doing this. she's such a compelling character and being in her head was truly such a fun experience.

all i will say is i was a mess. this book made me laugh and cry and throw it across the room and then lend it to my aunt to pass on the pain. i refuse to suffer in this emotional dumpsterfire alone.

also, a tidbit: this was my book of the month subscription pick, and i almost picked that shitfest silver elite over this. i was not swayed by the sprayed edges, thank GOD.

darrow farr, count your days.