My rating: 4/5 stars
L.H.Cosway is one of my favorite authors and every book from her is a joy to read. “The Hearts” series is definitely one of my favorites and I hope she will have inspiration to write similar books for 100 years from now on, because her stories are addictive and passionate.
Besides from the beautiful and amazing purple cover, “A Crack in Everything” is so much more than a high-school story. It runs deeper than any story I have ever read, because it is smart, genuine and different. I had my fare share of romantic teens/high-school drama stories, but this one tops them because of the characters and their unique features.
Evelyn and Dylan are a fantastic couple, the very essence of “opposites attract”. Living in a small community in Dublin, they don’t have money, struggling almost daily to earn an education, get a job and after that, get out of there and fulfill their dreams. Evelyn is a very sweet, 17 year old girl, abandoned by her mom and living with her aunt. In a way, she adjusted to this life in Dublin and only dreams of finishing high-school and getting a job, so she could help her aunt and grandmother, placed in a facility. Her only haven is her rooftop garden, which is her pride and joy, her happy place, where she can dream, even for a while. Her best and only friend is Sam, a boy who makes her laugh and who she can trust with an open heart. Dylan noticed Evelyn a while ago, but didn’t approach her, even if they were neighbors for sometime. When being followed by a gang that wants to recruit him and asks Evelyn for shelter, that is the only time in which they have time to talk, to notice each other more than a couple of fly-by seconds. After than, they will become friends, and friends will lead to so much more, being each other’s first love… well, not just first love, but only love…
The thing that attracts you to this characters besides their connection is their way of thinking. They are extremely mature for their age, especially Dylan and their conversation will blow you away, because they are sooo smart and approach some subjects that at 17 and 18, you wouldn’t even thought of them. Another thing that intrigues you is how different Dylan and Evelyn are. Evelyn is pure sunshine, optimistic and laughter, while Dylan is more realistic, more to the pessimistic side of life. They both experiences hard things in life, losses that marked them, but they developed differently and have other perspective upon things. While Evelyn still sees the good in some things, Dylan is angry and just wants to have more than the present offers him.
From this point on, after their relationship becomes romantic, you will be conflicted because you know what with this features, they can’t have a future together and I think this is the aspect that annoyed me the most. Evelyn’s lack of dreams, even if she was driven by her family, made me mad, because I wanted her to be as ambitious as Dylan. I wanted her to realize that she deserved better, could obtain so much more and with Dylan by her side, she could have a better future. I also understand her conflict of staying with the aunt and grandmother, but as I said, I wanted her to be more persistent and open minded about it. Dylan was a true example of ambition, even if his temper got the best of him sometimes. He is truly special and I hope we will achieve his goals, because at such a young age, he dreams big. Adding that L.H.Cosway gave him an unique gift, Dylan is a very cool character to follow and admire.
The book is overly emotional, with very original features of the characters, with a lot of funny, sad and romantic scenes, in L.H.Cosway style, and will definitely make you read the book without breathing. There are many elements that make this story stand out and I think I am going to remember it for a looong time, mostly every time I smell a flagrance 🙂
Ramonisme 