Publisher: Last Syllable Books
Release Date: November 6th, 2014
Source: Netgalley
Date Read: 12/21/14 to 12/23/14
280 Pages
Rating: ✰✰✰1/2
Based on true events, MELT is both a chilling tale of abuse, and a timeless romance. MELT will hit you like a punch in the face, and also seep through the cracks in your soul.
MELT is a brutal love story set against the metaphorical backdrop of The Wizard of Oz (not a retelling). When sixteen year old Dorothy moves to the small town of Highland Park, she meets, and falls for Joey – a “bad boy” who tells no one about the catastrophic domestic violence he witnesses at home. Can these two lovers survive peer pressure, Joey’s reputation, and his alcoholism?
Told in dual first person, Joey’s words are scattered on the page – reflecting his broken state. Dorothy is the voice of reason – until something so shattering happens that she, too, may lose her grip. Can their love endure, or will it melt away?
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I received Melt from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
Melt is an interesting, and very fast read. It felt more like a short story rather than a full length novel. I didn't necessarily love it, but I didn't hate it either.
The story starts straight off the bat. New girl in town. Meets the guy. BAM instant attraction and the romance starts straight away....in a Dunkin' Donuts. This is definitely not a slow burn type of romance, but then again romance is only half of the story.
Oh right and I have no idea what this has to do with Oz, except for the name Dorothy.
So yes where was I, oh right. We have Dorothy, the innocent naive girl and also "bad boy" Joey, who deems her as a delicate porcelain doll. Though I'm not exactly a fan of their relationship, I could see how the abuse affected Joey. To be honest, I think the book itself has to be longer in order for me to fully connect to the characters. I felt like I just got a snippet of their lives.
When I first started the book, I was very confused by the broken up sentences for Joey's chapters (because obviously I did not read the synopsis before hand), but basically the scattered words on the page reflects the broken-ness of the character. At some points, this even happened for some of Dorothy's chapters. I thought this was incredibly unique since it conveyed feelings through format.
Speaking of writing, there is GORGEOUS WRITING in this book. Like this:
Love's just hate wrapped with a bow, dressed up all pretty in pink cause we can't take seeing the naked truth.
Other than the scattered poem form, the writing is actually really, really good, and in a lyrical and metaphorical type of way. LIKE ABOVE.
Final thoughts? Melt was unique, interesting, but a little too short for my tastes and also about a topic I don't exactly sit well with (sex, drugs, alcohol, and all that jazz). The emotional aspect was very well done, and DAT WRITING. The writing was definitely the best part of Melt. Either way, I would recommend this because 1) it's very short and 2) it does deal with some topics that others may enjoy reading about.
