Things I’d Rather Do Than Die by Christine Hurley Deriso | Book Review

First of all, Things I’d Rather Do Than Die by Hurley Deriso is a Christian book. I don’t read Christian books.

You can read my Book Review Policy and see yourself.

But I end up reading this because NetGalley does not tell me that it is a Christian Book.

So, what I did, I skipped all the Pastor and Ethen conversation chapter from the book. Only two chapters.

Well, Thing I’d Rather Do than Die will release in September this year.

This is not Hurley Deriso’s first book. She has written All the Wrong Chords, Do Over, The Right Under Club and more books.

Summarized

Frankly speaking, there was no newness in the book.

The old tired formula of a Football Player and Invisible Girl love story, with the sad backstory of both characters.

This formula works in y/a but, you need to write a catchy story with a tongue in cheek dialogues.

With quotes that I can post on Tumblr. But the book lacks it.

Title

The title, “Things I’d Rather Do Than Die” is misleading. 

I read it because of the title, but the book, the story, character, and plot, they all are not about this title.

🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁

The story of Things I’d Rather Do Than Die

Ethan and Jade.

A typical white football player with a Christian upbringing, a hot high school student.

A girl who lives in her own bubble only has one friend. She is different from everyone because she has a different skin colour, not white, nor black.

Taking from Kirkus Review

Jade is a multiracial girl of African, European, and Cherokee descent with a Filipina stepmother in a blended Catholic, Protestant, and agnostic family.

They both find each other unbearable, but yet attractive.  🙄

Jade works at a gym, and Ethan comes at the last minute before closing, to do exercise.

And with the forced situation, they meet and spend some time alone in a locked room, and tell each other their secrets in a 5 Min conversations.

They even tell what they think about each other and their friends.

Too much trust in few pages.

Then you can guess the story.

They start falling in love, but Ethan has a girlfriend.

Jade try to push away, but that never happens in a book.

When the story starts to drag, Jade start dating another character.

So, Ethan feels jealous and realise how much he loves her.

He finally broke up and things went smooth.

There were other things too.

Girl’s father has some killing disease, and everyone tells her sorry.

Boy’s father is Alcoholic, and the only character I like in the book.

Girl’s mother, was she in the story or not?

She was only through the messages.

Characters

I already told you the alcoholic father was my favourite, the reason is whenever he was on the pages, there was the excitement. The thrill, that something going to happen.

Other than him, no character brings that action.

there is not much building of other characters, except for the main one.

The writer touches the other character lives from the tangent, but stay focused on the real one. Good thing.

The problem is the main characters are not carved properly.

They just drop their stories like a pencil.

“My father is an alcoholic.”

“My father is dying.”

There was not much time given to both characters to build trust between them.

Some hour in a room and they know each other a lot.

The language of the Book

It is simple. Yes.

Not metaphors, symbolism…

Simple storytelling.

It is the reason I finish the book.

Because It was easy to read, so I finished it in 5 hours.

  • One chapter from Ethan and One form Jade, consecutively.
  • One chapter from Ethan’s Girlfriend is I desire.

Alternate Ending

If I had the chance to change the ending.

Ethan’s girlfriend does suicide, because of the breakup depression.

The last chapter will be from her, a letter sent to Jade. Telling her that all of it is not her fault, but she is weak and she can’t digest rejection.

Finally Do I recommend this Book?

Read this book if you have nothing special to read. Or you are on a 5-Hour flight, and you like to read a light read.

It will pass your time, and in the end, it will not affect you in any way.

You will be just what you are.

Things I'd Rather do than die Book Review

Book Summary
Things I'd Rather Do Than Die

Things I'd Rather do than die by Christine Hurley Deriso is simple school romance, that talks about finding love at unexpected place.

URL: https://www.bookaapi.com/book-review/things-id-rather-do-than-die-christine-deriso/

Author: Christine Hurley Deriso

Editor's Rating:
2

Faizan Fahim

Hello, welcome to this blog. Just writing reviews of the book I like. Also, favorite quotes, poetry, memes, sometimes other topics too, but always related to literature. So join me on Twitter to talk to me.

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1 Response

  1. Dani Eide says:

    Sounds like the author tried to make Jade the diverse character for the whole book and not spread the diversity around. Well, they should of told you it was Christian lit. They like their stories written a certain way. ♥️ Loved that you tried any way!

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