Review: The Art of Losing by Lizzy Mason

Title: The Art of Losing

Author: Lizzie Mason

Publisher: Soho Teen

Publishing Date: February 19th, 2019

Pages: 336
Audio Length: 8 Hours and 49 Minutes

Genre: YA Contemporary
TW: Substance/alcohol abuse by minors

Series: Standalone

Source: Audio

 

On one terrible night, 17-year-old Harley Langston’s life changes forever. At a party she discovers her younger sister, Audrey, hooking up with her boyfriend, Mike—and she abandons them both in a rage. When Mike drunkenly attempts to drive Audrey home, he crashes and Audrey ends up in a coma. Now Harley is left with guilt, grief, pain and the undeniable truth that her ex-boyfriend (who is relatively unscathed) has a drinking problem. So it’s a surprise that she finds herself reconnecting with Raf, a neighbor and childhood friend who’s recently out of rehab and still wrestling with his own demons. At first Harley doesn’t want to get too close to him. But as Audrey awakens and slowly recovers, Raf starts to show Harley a path forward that she never would have believed possible—one guided by honesty, forgiveness, and redemption.

What made me pick this book up: 

I was perusing the YA new releases 2019 list and this cover caught my eye. 

What did I like about the cover:I actually don't like this cover really. I understand it's supposed to look like art, and I love the bright colors. But the cover itself just looks weird to me.

What made me read this book: 

I've been really into contemporaries lately. All my 4-5 star books have been contemporary. 

What did I like the most: 

I'm going to try to actually form some thoughts instead of ranting about how much I like this book and why. Not always easy...

First I want to start by saying this book is heart wrenching. Girl walks in on sister and boyfriend making out, she storms out refusing to give her sister a ride home. Gets a call that sister is in the hospital because said boyfriend was driving drunk and ran a red light.

You want to feel for her immediately. Not only had she walked in on her sister and boyfriend, but with her refusing to give her sister a ride, her sister got in the car with a drunk driver. So then add on the guilt.

This book has a lot of emotion in it. Fear, guilt, uncertainty, heartbreak. 

I also love how much attention this book brings to issues like substance abuse and alcoholism in teens. These books are so important for teens I think, because it shows what can happen if you drink and drive, and it shows how hard having an addiction is, how it effects every aspect of your life. 

I think that's what I like the most, how real this book is and how much it shows about alcoholism. 

What didn't I like: 

The pacing of this book feels all off. It starts off kinda slow, then gets really deep into it, and then slow slow slow and then something interesting happens.

That really doesn't take from the book though, it was a bit annoying, but totally worth it. 

I also didn't really care for most of the characters. Besides Raf and sometimes Harley (I have a love hate relationship with her) I didn't care for any other character in the book. I mean the main characters, the secondary characters were better than the main ones. 

I also didn't like how the MC seemed to help him more than AA does. I wish it put more emphasis on him going to AA. 

Would I read the rest of the series/more from this author?
Yes absolutely!

I really loved this book and how real it was.

“I also think it’s better to have loved and lost, you know? I just think everyone should get to experience that happiness, even if there’s a chance it might lead to heartbreak.” 
― Lizzy Mason, The Art of Losing

Lizzy Mason grew up in northern Virginia before moving to New York City for college and a career in publishing. She lives in Queens, NY with her husband and cat in an apartment full of books. The Art of Losing is her first novel. Visit her online at www.LizzyMasonBooks.com or follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @LizzyMason21