Entangled - Cat Clarke

Grace is in a room, everything is white- too white. There are pens and paper scattered on a desk. She has no idea how she got there or why she is trapped there. She has been kidnapped by Ethan, who is mysterious and asks a lot of questions. There is nothing to do, so she sets her mind, and opens her heart, to writing all the events that lead up to her being captured. Her family, her Dad's death, her rocky friendship with Sal and her romance with Nat. That's exactly what brought her to the park that night, armed with a bottle of vodka and a knife in her hand. That's where she met Ethan.

This was a fascinating book in so many ways. It is obvious from the start that Grace is on a downward spiral and it's not going to end well. Her character is so strong, and I think any teenager can relate to her. The book hits hard very relevant issues for its audience: suicide, love, friendship, alcohol and depression all feature. She is very much alone and is actually very afraid and nervous as a person, despite her loud exterior. I just fell in love with this character- she is a work of art. The layout of the book is flicking between her written memories (the lead up to her being in the room) and the present of being there with Ethan occasionally popping in.

The ending is a tiny bit disappointing, it is hard to understand and it took me a while to figure out. There I was; staring bewildered at my kindle, flicking back to try and make some sense of the madness. Eventually (i'm afraid to say) 'Yahoo answers' was my last resort. I had a theory about the ending but I was completely wrong and it caught me slightly by surprise. It is hard hitting thats for sure, and will stay with me for a long time to come.

SPOILER-
Throughout reading the book I had an ongoing theory about the ending. I believed that the elusive Ethan that found her in the park was some kind of doctor/psychiatrist and that she was in a mental hospital and encouraged to write down her thoughts as some kind of therapy. This also fitted in with Sal's worries about Grace (maybe Sal could of called the hospital?). I kind of wanted this ending because it would have been interesting.

The ending in fact appears to be that she did actually try to kill herself as intended in the park and the room and Ethan don't actually exist. She is in a coma. I missed this because I forgot that earlier in the book Grace mentions that if she were a boy her name would have been Ethan. Ethan seems to be her subconscious: asking questions she doesn't really want to face. I remember distinctly that Grace says that the door to the outside is open, but she doesn't want to go through it. She is talking to her subconscious to make sense of things. The very ending is her with hope of recovery. Which is the best thing for the character.

Loved it! But shame the ending isn't very clear! I give a fabulous four stars!