Hey Jude is a short novella about a seventeen-year-old girl, Penny, who feels she must take care of her younger sister Jude, who suffers from depression and suicidal ideation. The book covers the start of a new school year for the girls.
I am unable to decide if I liked this book or not. I was able to finish it but was left feeling nothing. I wasn't sad it had ended, nor did I find myself wondering what happened next. The book has two large character reveals. The first was predictable and the second felt forced. The ending was also predictable. Many of the interactions between the characters felt forced and unnatural.
I feel like I should also mention that while the book is just barely over 100 pages long, it took me almost a month to finish it. I would pick up, read a chapter...then put it back down out of boredom. Overall, it felt like notes for a poorly written Freeform drama in the making that was accidentally published as a book.
However, I do appreciate the representation of LGBTQ...even if it felt like a last-minute addition. I also really like the way that Jude's red flags were presented. Instead of using the stereotypical symptoms of someone being suicidal, it brings up some of the lesser-known, yet more common ones. The relationship between the sisters, Jude and Penny, was the most believable and well-written part of this book.
Rating: 2/5 ★★☆☆☆
Book and Author Information:
Author: Goodreads
Published: September 22nd, 2020 by Orca Book Publishers
ISBN: 1459826353
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