A review by amanda_reads13
Before We Were Innocent by Ella Berman

emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Having just graduated highschool, three best friends head to Greece for the summer. While there, tragedy strikes and the the girls lives are forever changed. 

This is a story about female friendship and how one event can change and shape our future. The story examines the complex and ever changing relationships of teenage girls and how the adult women choose to deal with the choices they made in the past. The story splits the time between the girls at 18 and 10 years later. I felt like the story was a little slow and wish that we had spent more time in the past with the girls.

While in Greece, the girls find themselves fighting and pulling away from each other. One night after an argument, Evangeline falls to her death. This leads to questions about whether it was an accident or whether the other two girls were responsible. 

In the present, Joni's fiance has gone missing. Though Bess has not seen Joni in years, she gets roped in to the drama. 

It's interesting to see how both Bess and Joni's lives take such drastically different paths. Bess is definitely struggling with PTSD symptoms while Joni is definitely dealing with issues revolving around confidence in relationships. 

The ending was an interesting choice as we never really find out what happened to Joni or Willa.

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