Even If We Break by Marieke Nijkamp

Even If We Break by Marieke Nijkamp.

Published 15th September 2020 by Source Books.

From the cover of the book:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Marieke Nijkamp comes a shocking new thriller about a group of friends tied together by a game and the deadly weekend that tears them apart.

For five friends, this was supposed to be one last getaway before going their separate ways—a chance to say goodbye to each other, and to the game they’ve been playing for the past three years. But they’re all dealing with their own demons, and they’re all hiding secrets.

Finn doesn’t trust anyone since he was attacked a few months ago. Popular girl Liva saw it happen and did nothing to stop it. Maddy was in an accident that destroyed her sports career. Carter is drowning under the weight of his family’s expectations. Ever wants to keep the game going for as long as they can, at all costs.

When the lines between game and reality start to blend with deadly consequences, it’s a race against time before it’s game over—forever.

*******************************

Marieke Nijkamp is known as an advocate for diversity in story telling, with the aim of making novels more representative of the world around us, so this was one I was really interested to read.

This is not the first diverse book to ever makes its way into my reading pile, but this the first one I have absorbed that weaves a gripping story around a broader range of characters than usual, thankfully without resorting to tokenism, and does it so well.

This is a story about five high school friends, with three years of shared history, who all seem to have something to hide and reasons to mistrust each other. Before they part ways, and head on to the next stage of their lives, they share a weekend together in a remote cabin, but things go seriously wrong - and murder and mayhem ensue!

Yes, we have versions of the popular high school rich girl and the jock, but we also have characters who would not normally have a role in a story like this, because our cast also features autistic, physically disabled, trans and non-binary characters - and refreshingly, these traits are not related to the secrets they are keeping. Hurrah for a story that manages to break away from those old stereotypes!

There are some really interesting themes explored in this book, all wrapped up in a good old murder mystery cum slasher tale. 

Our characters have all bonded over a shared role playing game - one which allows them to be themselves without being defined by the issues they encounter in their real lives. They have been able to escape into the game and leave their troubles behind, but recent events have changed the group dynamic and this is what gives rise to bloodshed. 

The story touches on the troubles that each of our characters has experienced - including discrimination, parental expectation, addiction and financial woes - and the truth behind their circumstances and motivations is eked out ever so gradually by the author, as the story shifts back and forth between the narratives of the different characters. Even though the story progresses quickly, all the little pieces come together gradually, until the truth is finally revealed.

One of the things that works so well in this book is that our 'diverse' characters are the ones who really show their strength, rather than being easy prey for the traditionally stronger ones - it is actually their ability to look at things in a different way that works to their advantage.

I will admit that there were some things I struggled with in the story, such as the assumption that the reader will be au fait with some of the language used - particularly around the game playing parts - but I am not really the target audience for this one and I was able to find out everything I needed via good old Google. It is also a little tricky getting your head around the non-traditional use of pronouns when referring to a non-binary character, but you get used to this after a while - as in all things, it is just a matter of becoming familiar with this.

There is plenty of suspense, gore and mystery here to keep you guessing, and a nice thread of supernatural spookiness provided by a ghost story about the mountain that was lots of fun. This is essentially a page-turner, with a twist.

This is a book that is a fine example of what can be done with diverse literature, and it proves to be both gripping and thought provoking at the same time - although it will primarily appeal to the YA audience it is aimed at. I look forward to reading more titles of this kind.

Even If We Break is available to buy now from your favourite book retailer in hardback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Marieke Nijkamp and Source books for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Amber Choudhary of Midas PR for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Marieke Nijkamp is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of This Is Where It Ends and Before I Let Go. She is a storyteller, dreamer, globetrotter, geek. 

She holds degrees in philosophy, history, and medieval studies, has served as an executive member of We Need Diverse Books, and is the founder of DiversifYA. 
She lives in the Netherlands.

Find out more about Marieke on her WEBSITE.