16-year-old Frankie Raven has just moved 250 miles away from her sleepy hometown to Bradford and she’s convinced her life is over. But then she meets two people who set her on an exhilarating new path and change her life forever.
Roxana King lives on Leather Lane and everyone knows what goes on there; well, everyone except Frankie. Roxana is enigmatic, fun and unlike anyone Frankie has ever known. Then there’s Marcus Ford, the gorgeous, brooding older boy who fuels Frankie's daydreams about meeting her very own Heathcliff on the wild Yorkshire Moors. There’s an instant attraction and Frankie falls hard and fast.
Marcus and Frankie begin a passionate and turbulent affair but their relationship takes a sinister turn when Marcus becomes increasingly controlling and volatile. As Frankie is drawn away from Roxana into a world of darkness and isolation she finds herself impossibly torn between her head and her heart. Will Roxana still be there to save Frankie from herself and from Marcus? Of course, that’s what best friends are for. Isn’t it?
Alix Wenmouth's Addicted To You is a book that fits the recent trend of books dealing with the delicate subject of abuse in a relationship, however what makes this book especially awesome is that it's semi-autobiographical so the book sounds so realistic. Plus it's set in Britain and uses the slang phrases and voice that I can completely understand.
This book is so real and for me it was extremely relatable. Slight sob story time - when I was fifteen and sixteen I had a ten month relationship with a guy that was emotionally abusive to me, he was my first boyfriend and I was sure that I loved him but looking back afterwards I know it was just an obsession, an addiction, a need to be with someone because he made me feel worthless mot of the time but special sometimes. Everything that I felt is channeled in Frankie's story, except Frankie's story is much, much worse... it's books like these that show that abusive relationships aren't always about always being punched around, it's the emotional abuse, the feeling worthless and the little pinches and marks. A specific scene that stands out for me has Marcus forcing himself onto Frankie when she's asleep and stating that he has the right to have sex with her whenever he wants since she's HIS. Until now, Marcus has been a bad guy, but not a total a-hole, but everything drops at this scene and you begin to realise just how far gone Frankie is.
Wenmouth is a very talented writer and though there were a few parts where the writing didn't flow perfectly, but the narrative is honest and engaging and the dialogue was so perfect for an English setting. I sound like a fifty year old when I say this (I'm only twenty, promise!) but Alix Wenmouth is totes down with the kids.
Overall, this book wasn't the best book I've read in ages, but it was so relatable and honest and believable, and it tackled an issue that is so often done wrong. I give kudos to Alix Wenmouth on writing an engaging and gritty book about obsession abuse in teen relationships.
Book released 22nd March 2013
Book received from the author in exchange for an honest review
After your review I will probably give this book a chance and add it to my TBR list. Abusive relationships are not easy to read about, but we need to remind ourselves they're out there!
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