Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published May 2011
368 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
When Alex falls for the charming new boy at school, Cole -- a handsome, funny, sports star who adores her - she can't believe she's finally found her soul mate...someone who truly loves and understands her.
At first, Alex is blissfully happy. Sure, Cole seems a little jealous of her relationship with her close friend Zack, but what guy would want his girlfriend spending all her time with another boy? As the months pass, though, Alex can no longer ignore Cole's small put-downs, pinches, or increasingly violent threats.
As Alex struggles to come to terms with the sweet boyfriend she fell in love with and the boyfriend whose "love" she no longer recognizes, she is forced to choose -- between her "true love" and herself.
"Starred Review. Brown's deliberate pacing and the gradual unveiling of Cole's nature make the story, and Cole and Alex's relationship, feel akin to a train gathering momentum, one whose destruction is as assured as it is tragic." - Publishers Weekly
"Gritty and disturbing, this novel should be in all collections serving teens." - School Library Journal
"Brown tackles another taboo but much-discussed topic with authority and authenticity....readers will be enthralled." - Kirkus Reviews
"Brown creates multifaceted characters as well as realistic, insightful descriptions of Alex's emotions...A tough but important addition to the YA romance shelves." - Booklist
This information about Bitter End was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
When not writing about serious subjects, Jennifer Brown, a two-time winner of the Erma Bombeck Global Humor Award, is a columnist for the Kansas City Star. She lives in Missouri with her husband and three children. She is the author of Hate List.
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