Sophie & Carter by Chelsea Fine [Review]

Synopsis

While other high school seniors are dreaming about their futures, Sophie and Carter are just trying to make it through each day.

Carter is overwhelmed by issues at home as he struggles to support his mother. Meanwhile, next door neighbour Sophie is left to care for her three younger siblings in place of their absent and troubled mother.

All that holds these two best friends together is each other, and knowing that each night they’ll sit together on Sophie’s front porch swing and escape from reality, if just for awhile.

But as their relationship reaches a turning point and high school graduation nears, will their friendship become something more?

Review

So, recently I’ve been taking a risk with some of the cheapy (less than £2) Kindle books that have been popping up in my recommended books in the Kindle Store. I noted some wonderful comments about the main characters in this one, and decided it was worth the risk. I was so glad I did. The two MC’s the eponymous Sophie and Carter, are so heartbreakingly likable it hurts.

Alternating POV when it’s done well, is one of my favourite story telling techniques. As someone who is very much a character based reader, the opportunity to get into both characters minds and see their thoughts and motivations, just makes sense.

And Chelsea Fine has done a great job of it here. Sophie and Carter’s relationship, is based on friendship, respect, and just caring for each other, they develop a love for each other, long before they fall in love.

The crap they both have to deal with at home, is just heartbreaking, and Chelsea Fine manages to (in what is more of a novella than a novel) draw out realistic back-stories for what the two teenagers have to live and suffer though at home, without over doing it.

In fact, if the book had been just a little longer, shown a little bit more of both the harsh realities of their existence and some of the ways they helped each other through it, I’d rate it even higher.

I wasn’t expecting to care for a pairing so much again, so soon after, Augustus and Hazel, but Sophie and Carter met every expectation I had for them after reading about them in the reviews before I bought this one.

Rating

[xrrgroup][xrr label="Characters:" rating="6/6" group="s1" ] [xrr label="Plot:" rating="5/6" group="s1"] [xrr label="Writing:" rating="4.5/6" group="s1"] [xrr label="Just One More Page:" rating="6/6" group="s1"] [xrr label="Overall:" overall=true group="s1" ][/xrrgroup]

Buy: Sophie & Carter by Chelsea Fine