Title: Crash Into Me
Author: Albert Borris
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pub. Date: 7.21.2009
Keywords: Suicide, Roadtrips, Love, Friendship, Family, Grief
Pages: 257
Description (from GoodReads):
Owen, Frank, Audrey, and Jin-Ae have one thing in common: they all want to die. When they meet online after each attempts suicide and fails, the four teens make a deadly pact: they will escape together on a summer road trip to visit the sites of celebrity suicides...and at their final destination, they will all end their lives. As they drive cross-country, bonding over their dark impulses, sharing their deepest secrets and desires, living it up, hooking up, and becoming true friends, each must decide whether life is worth living--or if there's no turning back.
CRASH INTO ME is Albert Borris' first novel and he makes a splash with this open and honest portrayal of four teens contemplating suicide.
The story is told in varying formats: narrative, chatroom sessions, and the occasional pertinent list. The narrative moves the reader through the current events, the chat sessions offer a look at the characters before they began their fateful celebrity suicide-studded roadtrip, and the lists are a small offering of comic relief, albeit dark. Owen narrates, but still maintains his distance by keeping secrets from both the reader and his fellow characters.
The casual discussion of suicide and how each character would like to do the deed is both disturbing and compelling, but necessary. Those who contemplate or plan suicide aren't squeamish about the topic, not if they're serious like our four main characters are. As the novel progresses, the reader begins to see hints and flashes of what drives Frank, Audrey, and Jin-Ae to feel ending their lives is the only option, but Owen's motivations remain somewhat shadowed. It was this mystery that held my attention more than any other part of the novel.
Borris' debut manages to be raw, yet polished - a stunning effect.
Review Copy provided by author.
