Review: Dear Cassie by Lisa Burstein

Dear Cassie
by Lisa Burstein
Published by Entangled Teen
Publication Date: March 5, 2013
Pages:352
Source: Purchased 









(From Goodreads)
What if the last place you should fall in love is the first place that you do?

You’d think getting sent to Turning Pines Wilderness Camp for a month-long rehabilitation “retreat” and being forced to re-live it in this journal would be the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.

You’d be wrong.

There’s the reason I was sent to Turning Pines in the first place: I got arrested. On prom night. With my two best friends, who I haven’t talked to since and probably never will again. And then there’s the real reason I was sent here. The thing I can’t talk about with the guy I can’t even think about.

What if the moment you’ve closed yourself off is the moment you start to break open?

But there’s this guy here. Ben. And the more I swear he won’t—he can’t—the deeper under my skin he’s getting. After the thing that happened, I promised I’d never fall for another boy’s lies.

And yet I can’t help but wonder…what if?

My Thoughts

Dear Cassie, the companion novel to Pretty Amy, is so much more than I ever imagined it would be. The Cassie in this book is completely different from the character in Pretty Amy because we get to hear her voice, know her thoughts and not just how Amy saw her. While they are companion novels, I really don't want to compare the books because each book is different, just like both girls are different.

Dear Cassie is an excellent example of how people don't always see themselves as others see them and how often people can see beyond what we are willing to share of ourselves. But more than that, it demonstrates the ways we punish ourselves when what we need to doing is forgiving ourselves.

Katie Kacvinsky (an author whose books I'm a fan of) blurbed Dear Cassie, but it wasn't needed to convince me to read it. It just convinced me that I shouldn't wait another minute to read Dear Cassie and it's true - "be ready to be changed."

Dear Cassie is filled with a lot of memorable moments - shocking, jaw-dropping, laughable, and heart-breaking, but this one just might be my favorite:

     He turned to go, then stopped like he remembered something. "I'll try to come back tonight," he said. His face was hopeful, as hopeful as the sun that was about to rise.
     "You sure are willing to go through a lot for cigarette smoking and hand holding, " I said.
     "You need to try and remember that." He watched me. Maybe for the way the sun was starting to color my face, or maybe for the way my eyes were on his, unable to look away. (pg 238)

I just love this book! I recommend it as well as Lisa Burstein's Pretty Amy and companion novella, The Next Forever.

Disclaimer: This review is based on the paperback version which I purchased for my personal library. I was not compensated in any way for providing this review. Thoughts and opinions are my own.