Small Circles by Megan Duke

Title: Small Circles

Author: Megan Duke

My Rating: 5 out if 5 stars

Online Ratings: 4.6 out of 5 stars

*I RECEIVED THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW*

NO SPOILERS!

Summary from Goodreads:

Small Circles is the story of four friends over four years of their young adult lives in Tennessee. Starting in their sophomore year at a boarding school and continuing through their freshman year at different universities, the friends face the same trials most teenagers face today, as well as a few other things. This inspiring story touches base with the struggles of defining oneself in spite of homosexuality, drug addiction, suicide, and heartbreak. Most of all it sends one message: it’s okay to be happy.

My Opinion:

Small Circles by Megan Duke is an emotional, heart capturing book which based on the story of four friends from Sophomore years to their College years. The four friends are Larson, Paxton, Owen & Jade who go through tough times in understanding themselves and each other better. This book was like a roller coaster- full of emotions, sometimes I was happy an star next I was crying. This book definitely reached out to me and the characters were so realistic I almost felt I was right there, next to them. If you are looking for a coming to age novel this is definitely a great pick. I can't wait to read three sixty! 

P.S: I loved how the cover related with a particular scene in the novel! 

SPOILERS!

I am lost for words...this book was truly amazing an has definitely captured my heart. This book follows the story of four friends who are going through tough times. Larson and Paxton are childhood friends and later on they meet Owen. Soon the three of them become best friends doing everything together. The first year in Sophomore, a new girl Jade comes to their school. The three friends form a strong bond with Jade making her the fourth member of the crew. The friendships formed is really special and we also experience the up's & down's of every relationship which helped make this book more relatable to. I adored how the cover represented that it doesn't matter what happens but as long as they live in each other's hearts everything will be fine. The nails and the wood shows their friendship as forever and I loved how you could see that symbolism throughout the entire novel as the four friends always supported each other and always forgave as well. Small Circles follows the emotions of each character and from the being to the end you can definitely see a large character growth. Paxton was probably the character whose character growth was most evident. From drinking and taking drugs to gaining confidence from Jade and being able to fix his problems by controlling them.  Paxton's main problem was a cause of his dad who committed suicide due to pressure. Paxton is afraid of becoming a coward like his dad who runs away from all his problems. He also starts to hallucinate which is why he starts to drink. His two best friends weren't there for him through tough times so he turned to Jade who gave him a helping hand. Paxton and Jade later grow a close relationship which turns into love but their love can be classified as forbidden as Jade's boyfriend is Owen at this stage of the book but later it is possible for them to love each other. Larson starts to form an interest in Owen which cause a lot of conflict between the four friends. The main message portrayed throughout this book was to never take what you have for granted and to always be happy. This was especially shown at the end if the book during the death of Owen. His death was quite sudden and unexpected. I have never cried so much when a character died but Duke connected me to the characters and their problems so well that I felt so attached. When Larson experienced the death of Owen, all his emotions came pouring out and Larson's character became more multi-dimensional as he was not perfect and unfortunately had to go through tough times. This book definitely shows major issues faced by teenagers and also it helps us to understand how teenagers define themselves. Megan Duke definitely reached the hearts of many readers and also made this book so engaging I started to believe some of the character's problems were mine. I was filled with joy and grief throughout this book and I was touched by the stories many people ignore today. Small Circles represents the idea that it doesn't matter what colour, nationality, status you are...as long as you are happy everything will be okay. 

- Erisha <4