February 2. 2014
Safer Outside
by:Kristina Renee
3.5 Stars ★★★☆
Blurb ~ When Liz moves to a new high school, she hopes for a fresh start. School is her escape from the violence at home and her only hope at breaking the cycle of poverty she was born into. Trying to shield her siblings from her stepfather's fury gets harder each day so when she meets Logan, she thinks it will be a harmless distraction from the fear.
She's Wrong.
Logan has the resources to change her life but at what cost? Her relationship is the best thing that ever happened to her but it could also be the worst. If she's not careful, she may lose everyone that's important to her. But it's hard to be careful when you're fifteen and in love.
My Review
ARC provided by Author for Honest Review
Safer Outside was a very quick and in
many ways typical YA romance. Boy meets girl, the two dance around each other a
bit, before girl gives in. What I really enjoyed about the story was Liz’s
personality. For someone her age, Liz deals with a lot of crap. Not only does
she get picked on for being the chubby girl at school, she also has a
step-father that Liz knows is just waiting for his chance to do something
awful.
Needless to say Liz’s home life sucks. Her stepfather has a job
that is if one considers drug-dealing as a qualifying position. Even with some
money coming in, the family relies on Liz to take care of them even if a
necessity in their household is getting cigarettes for her mother.
Liz takes care of her younger half-siblings. In fact the
youngest even calls her momma, clearly showing how much time Liz spends with
them but she’ll do anything to help or protect them even dealing with her skeevy
stepdad.
Having moved away a few years ago, Liz is ready to return to
her old school with her old friends as she has shed a few pounds, taken on a
new moniker and is ready to finish high-school with a bang. A few of the shifty girls try and cause
problems for Liz but that’s mostly due to jealousy.
Logan wants Liz as soon as he sees her. Something about Liz
calls to him even if they never met before. Liz is obviously super hesitant to
start anything, heaven forbid Logan should actually find out about her
home-life. But Logan doesn’t give up easily and slowly but surely he has his
claws into Liz.
Now don’t get me wrong I like Logan but for some odd reason
I was always suspicious of him. Like any minute he was going to turn around and
laugh at Liz like some sick high school prank. I hope this is just me but I
think it may be because we don’t really get an insight into who Logan is. I
feel like I know Liz but when it comes to Logan there is a slight disconnect
that leaves me weary. (It could also be because Logan is 17 and Liz is 15. I
know that’s not a huge difference but at that age, being in high school everything
was just a bit questionable for me.)Not to mention how quickly he fell for her
and vice-versa, insta-love is always suspicious to me but throw in a self-conscious
girl with home problems and I think I was more worried than she was.
Overall I really enjoyed this story. It was sweet with just
enough drama to keep things interesting. I was a little shocked by how quickly
everything happened in the end, especially how everything wrapped up but I was
still pleased nonetheless. I do wish there was more character development at
least on Logan’s side but Liz made up for his personality quirks with her take
charge attitude and devotion to family.
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