Point of Retreat

Oh, Colleen Hoover, why do you play with my emotions so? Talk about a roller-coaster ride!

“Sometimes two people have to fall apart to realize how much they need to fall back together.”

That quote pretty much sums up this book. The next chapter in Will and Lake's story is told from Will's POV. I loved that we got to see Will's thought process and get to see Lake through his eyes. I think it showed a whole other dimension to their relationship. First, we see the day to day routines that Will and Lake have developed. All those little things that make up a true relationship. It's not always about making out and staring into each other's eyes (although there's some of that, too). It's about making a life together.

Things start to fall show more apart when Will's ex-girlfriend shows up and tries insinuate herself into Will's life again. In spite of his best efforts to keep her away, she ends up causing Lake to question Will's true reason's for being with her.

Colleen Hoover is an absolute master at making you feel exactly what her characters are feeling. All of the doubt and insecurity and anger and frustration and despair. All of these characters could jump right out of the book and continue living their lives in the real world at any moment. There is nothing forced or artificial about their personalities or the dialogue. She also includes so many details that make you really believe that this could be a real story happening somewhere right now. The star jar, the gnome, basagna, and so so many other details make this a truly authentic story. That's really the best thing about these books - they are real and authentic and genuine and they make you feel something when you read them.

It's not all depressing, angsty stuff, though. There are some laugh out loud moments and some really triumphant moments as well. As I said in my review of Slammed, I'm generally not a fan of poetry but these books make me want to go check out a slam somewhere. The poems here are fantastic and emotional and powerful. Some of my very favorite moments involved the poems.

There are a couple of new characters introduced that really round out the cast of the book, Kiersten and her mom, Sherry. Kiersten is the precocious 10 year old who lives next door. She's clever and sarcastic and I loved every scene she was in. There's a small subplot involving Kiersten that really made me feel for her and I loved her poem, Butterfly You. In fact, I loved Kiersten so much that I would be very interested in reading a spin-off book about her and her mom.

Overall, this was a fantastic book. The writing is superb, the characters are genuine and amazing, the scenes and settings are authentic and I think everyone should read it. show less

booknook — Young Adult book reviews

If you read my review of Slammed, you'll know that I quite enjoyed the book. But I really wish I had just stopped there and savoured my good memories. I did not like Point of Retreat. Throughout the entire book I felt like I was constantly rolling my eyes or thinking "Really?" Point of Retreat is so over dramatic. I feel like every possible bad thing that could have happened, did happen. In fact, there were so many bad things that it felt a little unrealistic. And then there was Layken...

In my review of Slammed, I talked about how Layken was an immature, annoying teenager when she got mad. This happened again in Point of Retreat, and caused me to really dislike the main conflict in the story. The show more whole story basically came down to this:

"How do you know? How do you really know? You couldn't leave me now if you wanted to. Your heart is too good for that, you would never do that to me. So how do I know that you would really be here if our circumstances were different? If our parents were alive and we didn't have Kel and Caulder, how do you know you would even love me?"
—Layken in Point of Retreat

The whole conflict is really just one big "what if" game. If their circumstances were completely different, would they have still fallen in love? Layken is concerned that Will only loves her because they both experienced similar traumas. She's afraid that if neither of their parents had died, Will wouldn't love her. Well my opinion is: who cares? Why spend so much time worrying about what would have been, if that's not the case? Will obviously loves Layken right now, and that should be all that matters.. but Layken doesn't see it that way. It's like me crying and yelling at my boyfriend because I'm afraid he wouldn't have loved me if we first met in person instead of online. I told him that and we both agreed it would be absurd to even think/worry about that.

The whole thing was so immature and so childish. I could have gotten over it if that was one minor concern in the book, but that was the entire central conflict. I actually feel really sorry for Will because of all the crap Layken made him go through.. and over what? Nothing! Some stupid idea that he might not love her in some alternate hypothetical universe.

I do have to admit that the end of Point of Retreat made me smile. The last quarter of the book still had its fair share of drama and ridiculous "unfortunate events" (I say ridiculous just because there were so many). But the absolute end did put a smile on my face.

I'm sad to be saying this, but I do wish I hadn't read Point of Retreat. If I hadn't, I'd just be left with fond memories of Layken and Will. I think that having read Point of Retreat will make me forget the whole series much more quickly than I would have otherwise. show less

The only points in life I seem to detest are the ones where the sweet moments of life turn into sucks in an instant, when everything feels so secure but the next moment, you're standing in knee - deep ruins. That's exactly what Will and Layken go through, in the book, and as practical yet devastating the details are, it took me all my energy to take more than 24 hours into finishing the book. As much as the first in the series, Slammed, the book had me bawling my eyes out. Maybe even more than the first. Throughout the book, each character develops into a better version of themselves, and it took away all of my courage to close the book when I had to. Life can be devastating and uncertain, but with the right advice and the 'stars' by show more your side, you'll get over everything. As the book proceeds, some of the fallouts devastate my soul, but "sometimes two people need to fall apart to realize how much they need to fall back together." show less

Oh wow! Another butterflying great book! I am honestly in love with Will Cooper! Every girl hopes to be loved the way he loves Lake. Completely and deeply. He wasn't the overbearing, ultra alpha male type but he still held an intensity that made me giddy. Sometimes I wanted to grab Lake by the arms and shake her but I did kind of see her point, maybe not to extreme that she took it though. I loved their mix match family. I truly believe that biology is not the only thing that makes a family. I also loved the relationship between the kids, friends and the neighbors. Who wouldn't want to live on their street! There were so many good moments, some that made me laugh out loud, cry out loud, and even blush a few times. Love, Love, Love it!

Slammed was 'ok' but this is in another league. This story has you with a tight throat one minute and then, a few pages later, has you laughing out loud (you'll laugh too I'm sure), it's incredible how she can create this rollercoaster of emotions. I also loved that the story was told from Will's POV and that Colleen Hoover always plays with language in her books (in Hopeless too). I butterflying loved it.

After reading Slammed I knew I had to read the next book. The way that Slammed ended, there was no way I was through with the story or the characters. I needed more. And it’s funny. The minute I got Point Of Retreat, I could not bring myself to read it. Why? Because I wasn’t ready for the story to end. So I let it sit on my shelf, mocking me until I finally had the courage to let go. And folks, it was beautiful.

1. Emotion. One thing I adore about Ms. Hoover is the way she is able to manipulate the reader into feeling everything the characters are. I felt loved, happy, worried, scared, angry and old. I could relate to the characters because when I was little, I too had to grow up fast. My parents got divorced little a single mom and show more three kids to raise. And me being the oldest, I had to step up and help raise my brothers. So I get it. It felt so easy, stepping right back into the story where it left off.

2. Plot. It’s easy to say that this plot is built like a roller coaster. Lots of up and downs, leaving you feeling high and depressed all at the same time. The mix of emotions with questions being raised left me feeling like I was in the book. I understood what was happening yet I couldn’t do anything about it. So when things got tough, I put the book down. But not for long, just long enough for me to take a deep breathe and dive back in.

3. Minor characters. The minor characters that help shaped the main ones bring more to the story than what I thought. They are in turn, part of the main characters, Layken and Will. They were brothers, best friends, and friendly neighbors who brought good wisdom and insight to whatever problems Will and Layken had.

4. Facing the past. Having a short childhood makes you question everything. Why me? Why now? How could this be true? I loved how well the author raised questions that allowed the reader to think outside the book. I loved that I could put down the book and think about Layken and her situation.

5. Love. GAH! The love in this book is ever-flowing with such great innocence that it blossoms wonderfully before the readers eyes. I cried during some points in the book especially the parts where they declare their love. It’s so amazing to watch two characters over come and love each other deeply.

Beautiful and inspiring, Point Of Retreat is an amazing story. Combining realistic situations with an awe inspiring hope, Point Of Retreat makes an impact. A fantastic sequel that triumphs the first book, Point Of Retreat is epic. show less

"Well, that was definitely my sweet."

Amazing! I think the best treat here was that I waited so long from book 1 to book 2. There were things I'd forgotten so reading this one was really like visiting old friends. And what a story.

I thought the struggle and the frustration would get on my nerves. I wasn't sure I wanted to see Lake and Will have a tough moment. But it was right in it's wrongs and so very rewarding in it's agonizing confusion.

It was perfection. I loved every page. I don't regret reading it, I don't regret owning it.
I only regret not buying book 3 at the same time I bought 1 and 2 :)