Jess Jordan knows something has gone wrong in her mind after an incident of an almost rape, which she doesn't remember. To avoid her nightmares she resorts to not sleeping at all, at nights. Although her family, her therapist, and especially her younger sister try to help her, their efforts have been fruitless. As a highly successful student, she wants to go to college, but to gain her parents' approval she has to show them she can lead a normal life with friends and a boyfriend. So she hires a jock, Gray Porter, to act as her boyfriend. The two draw a contract and sign it, but there are things about Gray she doesn't know or can't remember. This is only the beginning of the book. The rest of it needs to be read because the gist of the story comes after that.

Anne Eliot deserves a big applause for writing Almost because, as all parents know, it is a very difficult job to warn young people about rape and its repercussions even if the incident is almost rape, and what better way to show this than in fiction, and not just any fiction, but a truly well-written one. As a reader, I felt for the main character deeply and understood the difficult situations all the other characters found themselves in.

I almost didn't purchase this book for all the five stars on Amazon, fearing it was family-friend rated, but this time, five stars do this book right. The plot is carefully constructed and the facts of the plot are put together like a detective story, with gradually increasing tension and suspense. The characters are believable and the language effective while being directed at young adults. It seems the author has researched the subject carefully, as well.

This novel deserves all the awards not only for its quality but also for the service it provides.

the characterization and the way the real story revealed itself in layers but still keeping its high tension.

empathy toward the main character, and not only her, but the other characters, also.

Anne Eliot. Her other book is Unmaking Hunter Kennedy.

It has everything a good story with believable characters has. In addition, it has the hidden message of warning young people about hidden traps that may hurt them.

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Created Jan 15, 2014 at 11:25am • Submit your own review...