– I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. –
Published by St. Martin’s Press on 17 Jan 2017
Goodreads | Amazon
What happens when you fall in love with someone everyone seems determined to fear?
Ninety seconds can change a life — not just daily routine, but who you are as a person. Gretchen Asher knows this, because that’s how long a stranger held her body to the ground. When a car sped toward them and Gretchen’s attacker told her to run, she recognized a surprising terror in his eyes. And now she doesn’t even recognize herself.
Ninety seconds can change a life — not just the place you live, but the person others think you are. Phoenix Flores-Flores knows this, because months after setting off toward the U.S. / Mexico border in search of safety for his brother, he finally walked out of detention. But Phoenix didn’t just trade a perilous barrio in El Salvador for a leafy suburb in Atlanta. He became that person — the one his new neighbors crossed the street to avoid.
Ninety seconds can change a life — so how will the ninety seconds of Gretchen and Phoenix’s first encounter change theirs?
Told in alternating first person points of view, The Radius of Us is a story of love, sacrifice, and the journey from victim to survivor. It offers an intimate glimpse into the causes and devastating impact of Latino gang violence, both in the U.S. and in Central America, and explores the risks that victims take when they try to start over. Most importantly, Marie Marquardt’s The Radius of Us shows how people struggling to overcome trauma can find healing in love.
I chose this book because…
What the heck happened during those 90 seconds?? Also it seems like this book could cover some heavy but important topics about race and immigration. I’m looking forward to finding it in this YA book!
Upon reading it…
At first I found Gretchen and Phoenix quite melodramatic, but I gradually warmed up to them. They were still kinda melodramatic at the end, but not as much, and after reading their story, I could understand it a little more. Those two definitely had their own separate struggles, so their angst was definitely warranted, but there was definitely something that was still juvenile about it.
“I hate the way it sounds. I sound so needy. I can’t believe I’m saying it, but it’s true.”
For the record, she was sounding quite needy, it was true, but at least she acknowledged it? Maybe the only crime is the accuracy of it; I mean, teenagers are quite angsty.
**highlight to reveal potential spoilers**
Maybe I would have found their love less trivial if the focus was less about the physical love and more than “talking to her/him makes me feel good.” That said, I did like at the end how Gretchen found a therapist instead of relying on a boy to fix her or make her whole or make her feel safe. But also on the other hand, I didn’t like how she based her decision about higher education based on a boy.
The romance aside, there were some pretty heavy themes, but written in a digestible way that shows you the warmth and life despite it all.
★★★☆☆
Damn. That girl was crazy. I mean, crazy beautiful, but crazy all the same.
I know every one of his smiles.
She’s white. And she’s nuts.
Those strange eyes are not easy to look away from. Maybe they aren’t confused. They’re just sort of everything, all at once.
I’m holding on for dear life, and a wild thought speeds from my stupid heart into my stupid head: I cannot let go. Because even though I’m terrified, I have this strange feeling that maybe we’re both on our way to someplace better.
How is it possible that some black ink on brown skin makes me part of a group?
You gotta make your own happy ending.
Or maybe it was just him, the way he made me feel okay about being a mess, the way he listened to me instead of telling me I’d eventually get better.
I keep moving toward her, while everyone else moves away.
Fuck ’em. They don’t know what you know.
I’ve never really understood Skittles. I mean, if you’re going to eat sweets, why choose sweets that don’t contain any chocolate?
Because I know he’s running away from something so terrible I can’t imagine it, but when he’s with me, we both are here. Right here.
My American Dream’s way more simple than that. I just wanna be able to go for a walk in the woods alone—get on one of those little trails in the forest and walk for hours. That would be so awesome. Or maybe head over to a friend’s place after dinner to watch a football match on TV, and not have to look behind my back every five seconds, not have to worry about whether I’ll make it home alive. You know?
Her hair is long and wavy. The way it falls creates a sort of wall, blocking out the world. Her bare knee is close to his, but not touching. They aren’t touching anywhere, but it’s like they are touching everywhere. Or at least wanting to. I don’t feel much of anything watching them, except curious about how that energy forms, how it can be so visible—so evident, even to strangers, probably.
It’s just more comfortable over there or something. It’s, like, the couches already have a couple of stains and the wood on the kitchen table is scratched, so I don’t have to be so careful all the time, worrying I might mess something up.
You don’t need me, Gretchen. I’m not who you think I am. I can’t be what you need. And maybe I do need you, but I definitely don’t deserve you.
I’m thirty-two years old, and I made enough mistakes in my first twenty-five years to last about a hundred lifetimes. But if I’ve learned one thing, I’ve learned this: No lookin’ back. It’s not gonna do nobody any good, boy. You just do the right thing now.
And don’t punish yourself, baby. The world’s gonna do that for you. You ain’t gotta add to it.
Her presence—real and steady—is maybe the only thing keeping me in this place.
All that boy needs is somebody to show him what he’s worth. It’s easy, baby. It’s real easy. All you have to do is love him.
It hurts like hell sometimes, but—every once in a while—when you catch the perfect wave, for a few seconds it feels like you’re flying.
I feel the sand under my feet and the salt pulling at my skin.