Review: Every Last Promise by Kristin Halbrook

Kayla saw something at the party that she wasn't supposed to. But she hasn't told anyone. No one knows the real story about what happened that night—about why Kayla was driving the car that ran into a ditch after the party, about what she saw in the hours leading up to the accident, and about the promise she made to her friend Bean before she left for the summer.

Now Kayla's coming home for her senior year. If Kayla keeps quiet, she might be able to get her old life back. If she tells the truth, she risks losing everything—and everyone—she ever cared about.

After finishing Every Last breath, I can honestly say that I am glad that it's over, and the book was just a big anti-climax for me. I was expecting big things from this, because it sounded like it should have been a hard-hitting, gritty problem book that made me think and made me cry. Unfortunately, Every Last Promise just did not deliver any of that for me. Instead, it was an uninspired, dry book that I practically forced myself to finish because I thought that the end would be where it all fit together, but it just didn't.

Now that might sound rather harsh, and I am not trying to say that the book sucked, just that compared to so many other 'problem' books out there, Every Last Promise didn't jump out to me. I felt like at times the pace was almost painfully slow, and where things should have been slow they just happened. For example, the part where everyone just forgives Kayla at the pancake breakfast thing just didn't seem well explained. One minute she's everyone's worst enemy and the next she's… not? I needed a bit more development there. Also the ending, where we find out exactly what happened just seemed like it was all thrown into my face with little explanation so I didn't feel like that was well done.

It also doesn't help that the main event that causes all of the drama is built up like some sort of mystery, however it's actually described in the blurb - on top of that, it isn't a main point of the book and I wish that there had been more build-up and come down, I feel like everything was resolved too easily because the big scene was at the end and that would have made the book much better. As well as that, the whole book's events resolve around Kayla's self-preservation and stupidity, and a lot of drama, misunderstandings and upset could have been upset if she had put everything out into the open 300 pages earlier. She's hiding freaking evidence, for Christ's sake!

One thing that I did enjoy was how the book was written in sort of a non-linear before and after way which makes it clear to see how much Kayla's life has changed, though she doesn't make the situation better for herself.

It's sad that these things do actually happen in small, sporting towns, but I feel like because this is a real situation it should have been executed a lot better. This is definitely not the best book dealing with sexual assault in small towns, and whilst it was okay I definitely wouldn't recommend you to do much more than take it out of your local library.

Book released 21st April by HarperTeen

Book received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review