The Girl Who Cried Poetry

Before we get down to business, I’ve implemented a new way of writing book reviews. Formerly, writing this book review was a headache I chose not to take on as I was very distracted, and my thoughts in orderly pushing me to find a new alternative as seen below. My book reviews from now on will be in a form of a Q/A to make it easier for me to relay my thoughts. My neurodiverse brain is proud.

Synopsis
Best friends Corey and Kyra were inseparable in their snow-covered town of Lost Creek, Alaska. When Corey moves away, she makes Kyra promise to stay strong during the long, dark winter, and wait for her return.

Just days before Corey is to return home to visit, Kyra dies. Corey is devastated―and confused. The entire Lost community speaks in hushed tones about the town’s lost daughter, saying her death was meant to be. And they push Corey away like she’s a stranger.

Corey knows something is wrong. With every hour, her suspicion grows. Lost is keeping secrets―chilling secrets. But piecing together the truth about what happened to her best friend may prove as difficult as lighting the sky in an Alaskan winter…


1. What made you read the book?

I picked this book because of the author. Ever since I read her novel, This Is Where It Ends, I’ve had this. Hunger to read more of her works. So far, I’ve read three and I’m really hoping to do an Author Spotlight on her, because she’s an amazing author and I just knew that Before I Let Go would be a bomb.

2. Summarise the novel in your own words.

I would love to! Corey gets a phone call that utterly breaks her— her best friend, Kyra, is dead. She doesn’t hesitate to take the next plane to Lost, a small town in Alaska. After hearing how Kyra died, Corey believes that things aren’t adding up, and she goes on a search to find out what actually happened to Kyra. The town doesn’t take so kindly to her prodding and ultimately, become hostile to her because they believe that Kyra was meant to die. After a not so accident, she retreats to the place Kyra stayed and slowly begins to uncover the bone chilling truth along with Kyra’s letters that were never sent.

3. What genre(s)  can the book be categorised into?

Before I Let Go belongs mainly to the mystery thriller genre because of its suspenseful and chilling nature.

4. How did the novel make you feel from the starting to the ending?

In the beginning, I was very confused. There was obviously something messed up going on and the suspense? It was thrilling, but slowly killing me at the same time. I also felt very cold. There was something really spooky and otherworldly about Lost and the death of Kyra that made me take a break to catch my breath, because what is hap I was hooked from beginning to the end and then, I just broke down because after finding out what happened to Kyra, I wanted to climb into the freaking book and murder everyone. It do be tough.

5. Who was your favourite character and how did they relate with you?

Kyra! Kyra was easily my favourite character and I’m going to spill the beans on how. In the novel, it was seen that Kyra had Bipolar disorder and that made the people of Lost despise her at first because they couldn’t understand her manic episodes. Those episodes were she would paint endlessly or go into the woods and go missing for days.

I loved Kyra’s mind. Kyra saw the world as a library of stories, both written and unwritten. She loved to read and write and I just loved the way her mind worked. You could tell Kyra is the kind of person you would want to converse with under the stars. I’m really interested in her character.

In the end, she did not deserve to die the way she did.

6. What message did you think the author was trying to pass across with the novel?

Marieke Nijkamp is known for diverse representation in her novels which makes me love her more, so ultimately, I believe she not only wanted to write a badass tragedy, but wanted to push across the message of friendship, estrangement and queer love. Freaking amazing messages, I might add.

7. What was your favourite diverse representation in the novel and how was it represented?

Why, asexuality. In a way, it was subtle, but if you have a sharp eye for queer representation, it’s easy to spot it. It was represented in Corey’s character. I almost thought they were lovers with how much Corey loved and understood Kyra, then it was revealed that Corey was asexual, perhaps aromantic, and they decided to stick to their friendship.

8. Did you highlight any quotes?

I didn’t highlight as much as I would have loved to, because a book like that makes you want to devour as much as you can without paying much attention to the beauty of words, but I will share the ones I did highlight.

Love me or hate me if you want, I don’t care. But do it for all that I am, with all that I am.

But hope is the cruelest of all.

Think of your meteors. What if they aren’t all science? What if the burning lights we see are spirits, falling back to earth? What if they’re trying to return to their loved ones before they burn out? What if a falling star is a soul coming home, one last time?

The first colonial settlers in Lost found that winter is not malleable, and frost settles too, Kyra once told me. And no matter how hard they tried, they could not escape being lost… And they could not escape Lost.

9. Would you recommend this book to your audience?

Fuck yes. I expect anyone who reads this to find a way to purchase or get the book, because it’s a must read. How can you go on in life if you heard about this book from me and did not make a move to read it?

10. On a scale of 1-5, rate the novel.

Like every book of Marieke Nijkamp I’ve read, a perfect 5/5 because it’s deserving and more.

I hope you love this new method of my book reviews as much as I do! I highly recommend you read this novel and do share your thoughts with me if you do. I love to have such conversations.

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