Review Detail

Dear Cassie was supposed to be poignant novel that would leave readers this certain feeling. It probably is, but unfortunately I had a hard time connecting with it.

Here we get to meet Cassie which is full of angst and seems to be angry with the whole world except her brother. She’s a broken character who is battling with guilt and grief on her own. She’s selfish and mean and sarcastic and hates herself the most. In my reading history, I’m supposed to be able to relate or embrace Cassie but I didn’t. Or maybe not fully.

What I really don’t understand was how the camp helped these delinquent teens with whatever issues they have. Maybe I’m too ignorant about this stuff but how did the activities helped them in any way? From I can see it only made Cassie interact to other teens possible because of the close living quarters as well as the competition between the boys and girls. If she wasn’t in the camp, I know she’ll never exert an effort to get to know those around her.

Then here comes Ben. He’s the guy Cassie wants to avoid and the guy who gets under her skin. He keeps on provoking her into saying something to him and he seems to really want to get to know her. He talks like an old soul who saw a lot in this world and he’s pretty much easy to befriend. Well, except that Cassie wants nothing to do with him… at first. He’s actually a good guy, who happens to be in a delinquent camp, but all will be explained when Cassie read his journal. (I know what you’re thinking. Bad Cassie!)

Of course the romance was present, but I’m glad that it was not the focus of Cassie’s stay in Turning Pines. I was actually expecting her to find a guy and have a whirlwind romance that will be testing when her secret comes out. Why? Because it usually happens. What I wish was there was an explanation or something why Ben is eager to crack Cassie’s protective shield around herself. He’s been brushed off a lot of times already but what made him pursue her?

This book is not about young romance between two delinquent teens who fixed their broken selves after they found each other. This is about Cassie and her struggles to accept and forgive herself on what happened in the past—a healing process.