Emiko Jean’s We’ll Never Be Apart was published in October of 2015, a fitting book for the time of the year.  This is one of the few times when judging a book by its cover actually gives you a good idea about what the book will entail.  Its cover is a worm’s-eye-view of barren fall trees connecting perfectly with the scraggly red words of the spine-chilling title.  

The main character, Alice Monroe, starts the story in a mental institution.  The prologue just a few pages earlier has Alice’s sister, Cellie, as the narrator, but the rights switched to Alice once the story began; I found this part particularly confusing. I had to reread the beginning, and I was halfway through the book.  Alice is recovering from the physical and mental trauma she endured from a barn fire that caused awful burns on her arm and the death of her boyfriend, Jason.  Now, in the mental institution, she is trying to rediscover herself and put her past behind her -little does she know, her past will be what defines her.   

Nonetheless, the book is thrilling, emotionally in-depth, devastating, and also a bit confusing.  Juvenile fiction/ Social Issues/ Physical & Emotional Abuse are the most accurate categories I could find for We’ll Never Be Apart.  I would give this book an 8/10 because the character development is very smooth and because of the way Jean really sucks you into the overwrought life and mind of Alice Monroe.