The Last to Let Go

I have learned this about author Amber Smith: she's not afraid of the difficult conversations in her books. That was clear with her debut and it remains with her newest bestseller THE LAST TO LET GO.We're introduced to another cast of characters that are dealing with love, loss and the aftermath of tragedy. Led through the voice of the main character Brooke we are able to see what it's like to deal with a life that you want to escape from and what happens when everything you've known is turned upside down. How difficult is it really to forgive and move on or will you be confined by circumstances and hold on to what was, never able to move forward and grow.Along the way Brooke meets others who are dealing with their own challenges and difficulties, reminding us that we're not alone in what we feel. As one character struggles to be seen by her parents, we're able to also understand why for ourselves as well as the characters in the book it's important not to be swallowed up by regret and anger as we lose out on the possibilities that might be ahead.Anyone who has ever wanted to belong will be able to see themselves in THE LAST TO LET GO,and realize that we never know what we can do until we try.

Ugh! Great book .

I REALLY liked the book “The Way I Used To Be”. I’ve picked it up multiple times to re-read it.This book however, I’m struggling jus to get through it. It’s written nicely, but it almost just seems to drag on. There isn’t enough depth in it for me personally. I feel as though it just grazes them too and never fully dives in. I want to finish it, I’m just having a difficult time. A book I’m into doesn’t take long to get through. This one however has taken me two weeks and I’m not even half way through. I skimmed through it and it seems to drag on a lot.

I read this while camping and my family got mad at me because I couldn’t put this down. Such a good yet very sad story. Highly recommend.

i finished the book in literally 1 1/2 days. by the end of the book, i was in tears. i really loved it. it was moving in my opinion.

Smith doesn't shy away from hard topics. In this novel we meet Brooke, a girl who has grown up in a household of domestic violence. When her mother is accused of killing her father, Brooke and her siblings are left to figure out how to handle life. It's a story that really shows the impact of how violence in the home can trickle down and affect each person in so many different ways. When Brooke meets Dani it seems like things will smooth out, but life doesn't work that way. First romances are hard without the black cloud of a messed-up home life. This is a wonderful addition to any YA library as it does an outstanding job of portraying the difficulty of moving forward from a hard past. Recommend

Astonishingly beautiful and emotionally stirring; The Last to Let Go is an emotional rollercoaster that brings in the darker sides of life many would rather not look into. Yet, it simultaneously gives light to the LGBT community while introducing characters of different ethnicities. Amber Smith is a writer that will NEVER let you down.

Amber Smith's debut, The Way I Used to Be, was one of my favorite books of 2015. It was a stunning and gut wrenching book. That's why I was really anxious to read The Last to Let Go. The premise sounded just as heartbreaking. I love books that cover difficult topics. I know some people avoid them, but I always like getting a perspective, even if it's a fictional one.Brooke's life has been hard to say the least. She's grown up in a home with an abusive father. Then the unthinkable happens. Brooke's mother fights back and kills her father. The Last to Let Go was a very emotional book. Amber Smith does a good job of making you think about how you would feel in Brooke's situation. It wasn't always black and white and I love when author's explore that gray area.The only thing that kept me from loving this book as much as The Way I Used to Be was the characters. I found almost all of them unlikable. It was completely understandable given their horrible situation, but characters can make or break a book for me. They definitely held me back from liking this one as much as I wanted to.I still think this was a beautifully written story about learning to let go and pick up the pieces after tragedy strikes. It you like books that take on tough issues, definitely pick up The Last to Let Go. I'm looking forward to seeing what this author has in store for us next!