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If you are currently thinking, “I’ve never seen this book before.” or “Never heard of it.” you are not alone. However, you might be familiar with Hutchinson’s widely-known novel We Are the Ants, published one year after this one. Now, The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley was the first book I read by the author, so I won’t be making any comparisons, but if it’s as fabulous as this one, I’ll have to add it to my tbr.
Title: The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley
Author: Shaun David Hutchinson
Pages: 290 (paperback)
Point of View: 1st person
Genres: YA Contemporary
Installment: stand alone
Drew was supposed to die that day in the hospital, together with his parents and younger sister, Cady. However, he was able to cheat death and has been on the run from her ever since. Living and working in the hospital, visiting his friends in Pediatrics, that’s not an easy feat, but Drew manages. Then Rusty arrives in the ER, a boy in complete agony caused by his classmates setting him alight. Drew promised all of his friends protection from Death, but will he be able to keep that promise?
I knew this would wreck me
The writing style of Hutchinson was unlike any ya novel author I’ve ever read. His descriptions are both artistically beautiful and realistically ugly and not sugarcoated in the least. It’s brutal at times, constantly intense, and heartbreaking. After reading only one chapter, I knew this book was going to wreck me. It’s bittersweet, heartrending and through it all, I was afraid of the ending. And I was right too. When the climax hits, it hits you deep and it doesn’t stop until the end.
Maybe hell is seeing the lost loved painted over the faces of the strangers we meet.
Flawed Characters & OTP
Drew is not perfect. Like any good character and real person, he is flawed in some ways. I can’t promise you you won’t feel any sort of frustration with the choices Drew makes. You might even think him or another character foolish for the things they want. However, at the same time, a part of you hopes he will succeed.
The romance between Drew and Rusty seems a little rushed as it takes a while to get the latter introduced. However, looking back at it now the way it pans out just seems to fit and, while their love story might be needed for the plot, it’s not the main focus. And I’m sorry to say this, but the award for OTP in this book goes to Lexi and Trevor.
They want to believe, but there are too many villains in the world and not enough heroes for anyone to truly buy into the scam that is hope.
Unpredictable in its Predictability
From the very beginning, I knew the last hundred pages would wreck me and it did. Moreover, I suspected a few things that turned out exactly the way they did. Nonetheless, there was one thing in particular that I never saw coming and that’s when the ugly tears started and wouldn’t stop till I finished reading.
You will be seeing a great number of comic illustrations in between chapters and you’re gonna love it! In the beginning, this might confuse you a little but it’s such a different and unique way to see inside Drew’s head more and get a deeper understanding of his feelings. Not to mention the beautiful art itself.
It is a dark, heart-twisting, and painful novel, but the end feels like hope. Drew’s journey is packed with grief and death at every pit stop, but with friendship and love and hope too.
Did I succeed in making you want to read The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley by Shaun David Hutchinson? If so, you can buy a copy here: Thalia | Amazon USA
