But There's More To You

♫ | Analysis

But There's More To You holds a very special place in my heart because I feel like I have outdone myself writing it. Cynthia's feelings and emotions are described precisely in a way to help the reader understand what was truly going on inside her head, whether it had been good or bad (I am am aware it is mostly bad).

This book was originally a one shot with 12 segments, but I have decided to stretch it out into 12 chapters so that it exists as a short book instead.

Something I really, really loved about this book is the way the metaphors and similes are written to help enhance and support the feelings by giving them examples to rely on and relate to.

If it isn't already obvious, this book was inspired by the song Strangers by Kenya Grace, and it is just how I see the song made into reality with the twist of them being public figures.

So let's not drag this too long and let's start with the analysis (cause truly, I am psychotic).

To explain it thoroughly, this book is in Cynthia Rose's point of view so it shows us how she views things and how she takes in emotions, but we never get Jade Levine's part of the story, just what he manages to slip inside Cynthia's head.

Whether Jade truly loved Cynthia or not is up to you as the reader and I think this makes it more exciting because it makes you think and analyze the details that are often neglected. Cynthia herself doesn't exactly know whether Jade actually loved her or not in the book, because, for one, he did mention 'seeking validation from attention' yet never specified what kind of attention, so it could be the attention he receives from being a public artist or more personal attention relating to romantic relationships and in that case it would be Cynthia.

If the latter is the realest, we still do not know whether that attention led him to really loving Cynthia or just the high of being flooded with the scrutiny from Cynthia's side. It is possible that some answers could lead to Jade leading Cynthia on for his own good knowing about her desperation because as Cynthia mentioned, he seemed to read her like no other.

At the end though, it is said that Jade had a dating contract with an actress named Kelsey Lou and again the reader is left to guess who actually worded that, but I think the obvious answer is Kai as he worked in the industry as Cynthia's manager and therefore could have certain connections to others with the same occupation.

It is mentioned that the contract Jade had was yet to be fulfilled and proceeded with which explains his rather sudden disappearance after their pictures got leaked but we do not know when exactly he signed the contract, so it could be before he even met Cynthia, during their constant meetups or after their photos were leaked which leads us to the main question: Does Jade love Cynthia?

Since this is an open ending, that question is left for you to decide the answer for.

But I'll make it easier for you to decide, so let's start with the basic list of For and Against just for fun.

For:

- Jade shows Cynthia the place he usually escapes to whenever he feels anxious during performances which could be considered private.

- He does give Cynthia his personal phone number and not just any private account before the night ends.

- During their first meetup, he takes her to observe the stars and she does mention that he talks a lot about the space and the fact that his telescope is very well taken care of so he is basically showing her a real part of him.

- Whenever they would meet up, he would be the one to pick her up, again with his personal car, which could be viewed as more intimate rather than just asking her to meet at any place to reduce the risk of being caught and having his plates exposed.

- Cynthia always mentioned the genuineness in his eyes whenever he would speak with her and later mentions his fast beating heart.

- When Cynthia broke down from the stress, he rushed to comfort her, yet again genuinely, mentioning her past self and she does mention a glisten in his eyes which could possibly be tears of sympathy. He also does try his hardest to get her out of her closed off mindset.

- Jade didn't exactly care about being caught with her the night he took her to the river if it meant he would be able to take her to her comfort place.

- Jade shows care through what could be gift giving because the day she does break down, he makes sure to visit her the next day by her apartment complex - never mind being seen - with desserts to cheer her up and when he takes her to the river, he makes sure to include several types of drinks, even the ones he didn't like (which means he had talked to her about his likes and dislikes in such tiny details) or couldn't drink to make sure she had a wide selection to choose from.

- He does mention that she is one of a kind and that he likes her uniqueness a couple of times throughout the one shot.

- After they kissed for the last time, he seemed to open up to her about what he dreamt of, which could be seen as trying to let go of an old habit or being attracted to Cynthia in a way he had never before.

- When Cynthia mentions her dream, he points out the fact that they wouldn't have met each other and when she says that everything comes with sacrifice, he 'loosens' his grip around her, seemingly faltering or upset about not being the first priority in her dream.

- Lastly, despite the new dating situation, he still does check her messages after her first concert which could either be a gesture to tell her that he is still there or wanting to make sure she was alright after her first concert.

Against:

- He seemed to have followed her when he saw her running after her first performance and that could be seen as already targeting her.

- The most obvious red flag is the fact that everything happened too fast, starting from talking almost all day to hanging out too soon.

- Cynthia does mention that he doesn't really share that many details about himself, only the ones that could easily be found on the internet with no struggle so it could be viewed as not wanting to get attached or have Cynthia get attached to him.

- Every nice gesture he offered could be seen as a way to lure Cynthia into his venomous trap.

- He said he loved her in a moment of heat right when they pulled away for air and he could well enough just be driven by the high of kissing Cynthia and not really genuine.

- Upon exposing his validation obsession, we are drawn back to when he did mention being exposed to the public eye since he was younger so he could be linking both statements together and that is that he isn't exactly the most suitable person for dating.

- He never confirms nor denies the rumors and he never texts her back after the photos get leaked.

- It is later given that the contract was already signed but the date not made clear, so he could have easily signed it during the meetups, before knowing Cynthia personally and he still never mentioned it to her or after they were exposed which could be him trying to run away from his responsibilities after getting Cynthia attached to him.

You could decide whichever side you are taking.

I would like to point out if you didn't notice, chapter 9 says 'Look up Luna' and that is because Luna could be another word for moon and in this book some metaphors mention the fact that Cynthia is the moon longing to be a star but accepting her new title at the end and a bonus is that one of the meanings for the name Cynthia is in fact 'moon', therefore, she is told to look up, that they - the audience - are calling for her.

Last but not least, I would like to point out that the change in Jade's contact name had been intentional.

That's all! I hope you enjoyed reading this story and the analysis as much as I liked writing both as they are very personal to me!

Yours truly,
Junnie.