Review: White Chalk

White Chalk

By: Pavarti K Tyler

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Rating: 5/5 Cogs

Blurb:

Chelle isn’t a typical 13-year-old girl—she doesn’t laugh with friends, play sports, or hang out at the mall after school. Instead, she navigates a world well beyond her years.

Life in Dawson, ND spins on as she grasps at people, pleading for someone to save her—to return her to the simple childhood of unicorns on her bedroom wall and stories on her father’s knee.

When Troy Christiansen walks into her life, Chelle is desperate to believe his arrival will be her salvation. So much so, she forgets to save herself. After experiencing a tragedy at school, her world begins to crack, causing a deeper scar in her already fragile psyche.

Follow Chelle’s twisted tale of modern adolescence, as she travels down the rabbit hole into a reality none of us wants to admit actually exists.

Review:

I had to sit on this book for days just to be coherent enough to write a review.  This book is completely terrifying as well a realistic look into what teenagers can face while they're growing up.  I can't help but think that if Chelle's parents were a bit more involved in her life that this story would be completely different, but in this world of addiction and violence, this unfortunate tale could very well be common.

The story is heavy and heartbreaking.  Chelle reminds me a lot of my niece, making this story that much more difficult for me to read.  I just wanted to be there for Chelle.  I wanted to hug her and tell her that I loved her and that everything will be okay.  The story is disturbingly memorizing, even though there were many times that I just felt like I needed a break, I couldn't put this book down.

This book is a perfect storm of the horror that can befall a child in their coming of age years.  I highly recommend this book, just don't start it expecting a light and fluffy read.

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