Live For This

Kathryn R.
Biel
Genre: 
Contemporary

Samirah and Michael are both broken people. When Sam's mom died, she was left with nothing; her father put the house up for sale the day of the funeral. Sam's choice to not care about being a decent person because life sucks anyway, led to her being drugged and raped, and it's all on video. Michael had a great life, a career, a wonderful future, and on his way to propose, his spine was severed on the hood of a drunk driver's car. Three years of surgery and therapy later, he is a paraplegic, but is finally living life again - although with a broken body.

The steam rating is accurate, but given the content and struggles (both internal and external) of both characters and the descriptive words used, this book is for mature audiences only. Sam is not a nice person and readers are going to struggle to feel sorry for her. Michael, though nicer and with a firmer grasp of reality, is no less closed off emotionally. The story is gripping and brutal and harsh and readers will not be able to put it down until it's finished. The level of easily understandable descriptions of medical and emotional issues which surround a paraplegic and a rape victim is unprecedented, to the point that readers will feel so intently, it may become uncomfortable for some. There is a lot of foul language, but it's appropriate for the characters and their situations. Told in dual first person, anyone in a hopeless situation will find hope again through Sam and Michael's journey.

Julie York