Author: knightsrachel
Genre: Teen Fiction
Shining Moment: It's without a doubt the characters. My God, the characters are amazing.
I'm going to be blunt. Jefferson Lake is my all time favorite Wattpad book.
I could go on for hours about how much I love this story! It is so far, the only Wattpad book I have read that could not put down, even for a 60 minute class period. I was reading it during every moment of free time I had for four days straight. I lost sleep, I didn't take any notes in class, and I ate my meals in front of this computer.
It was completely worth it.
Let's take a moment to talk about Lee Adams. He is a seventeen year old boy who's highly sarcastic, nicknamed the Encyclopedia Boy, and can piss off his brother Parker, to no end. He also suffers from bipolar disorder, ADHD, and a panic disorder caused by severe claustrophobia.
In unrelated news, he's is my all time favorite character. That includes books, movies, video games, anything. His words will make you cry, either from laughing too hard or sympathizing too much. What ever I am saying here can not do this character justice. When it comes down to the wire however, he's just so gosh-darn likable.
He, along with all of the other characters in this series, are highly realistic. They aren't cliched like a vast majority of OCs you'll see out there. Each one is full of personality, individual quirks, and charm. You go on an adventure every time you read this book, whether it's to North Carolina, group therapy, or Lee's dorm room.
Also, these characters actually develop as the story goes on! They change and grow as human beings and are completely different people at the beginning and end of the book. It's something that I don't see happening enough on Wattpad, or even in real published novels.
Alongside that, this book is eye opening. I can not applaud knightsrachel enough taking the time to thoroughly research the disorders she portrays. This book will teach you things you never thought you would need to learn. And believe me, everyone should know these things, at least to some degree.
There is no fantasy land with this book, no sugarcoating, and no real sense of security for readers, or for the characters. Tensions can be extremely high when the book requires it. There were a few moments I can think of that made me question if the characters would make it out alright. However, the story is full of heart, and full of humor. The author knew when to give our shattered hearts a break.
All of the books I have read by knightsrachel had nearly identical writing styles. It's one she has mastered over the years, and one I feel requires some practice before it turns into something great. It's simplistic, yet very effective. There's rarely a huge paragraph full of details and thoughts. The writing is dialogue heavy, allowing the plot to move a lot faster. Details are given when needed, and can be highly descriptive when it's required.
This is more of a coming of age story than anything else, meaning that the plot is sectioned off into many arks, compared to one long one. These type of stories are about following the characters through their life, rather than watching characters reacting to a given plot.
Now, there is a negative. This won't downright spoil anything, but this part will discuss some events in the book. It will be safe to read again after the next paragraph.
-
-
Towards the middle of the book, Parker and Lee's fights became somewhat redundant. Now I get why they were very frequent due to the high amounts of stress in their life, but it started to become a pattern. Parker shows up, one of them snaps at the other, they fight, harsh things are said, time passes, and they make up. Thankfully however, by the time this started to get stale, the plot switched itself up.
-
-
**End**
I highly, highly recommend this book but only for a certain audience. This book can become very dark fairly often. Trigger warnings are placed in front of the worst material, but it material is lengthy and frequent. There's also an excessive amount of swearing, and a few mature jokes.
Overall though, I love this book to pieces. I still continue to read it to this day and most likely always will as long as I'm still on Wattpad. It's a story I feel would age well and I will forever hope that it will be published one day.
Synopsis
*Spin-off of My Brother's Best Friend (A book I also highly recommend.)
*Trigger Warning: This book deals with issues such as self-harm, Anorexia, and depression.
Lee Adams is what people tend to call "high-maintenance". He feels as though he has absolutely no control over his emotions, his mood swings enough to drive you crazy. He's incredibly ADHD, to the point to where sitting in a classroom with him will give you a stress headache. But people can't help but love him. He's smart, funny, personable, and he has the sassiest mouth in the state of Florida. Join Lee on this roller coaster ride, as he tries to adjust to the daily challenges of the real world at a new school, with new friends, and a new intriguing girl.
Hopefully I didn't over hype this too much... Screw it, I definitely did. Oh well, I will forever love this book! For those who have yet to read, I hope your high expectations are met just like mine were. If not, feel free to comment why. Or do neither, life will go on just the same.
