Ten Below Zero by Whitney Barbetti

 

Review of Ten Below Zero by Whitney Barbetti

 

WOW - that is the first words that came out of my mouth after reading this book. After reading the description of this book, I knew I had to read it right away and I did. I was blown away.

 

Description:

My name is Parker. My body is marked with scars from an attack I don’t remember. I don’t want to remember. I choose to live my life by observation, not through experience. While people are laughing and kissing and connecting, I’m in the corner. Watching them live. I’m indifferent to everything, everyone. The only emotion I feel with any kind of depth is annoyance, and I feel it often.

A text message sent to the wrong number proves to be my undoing.

His name is Everett, but I call him rude. He’s pushy, he’s arrogant, he crowds my personal space, and worst of all: he makes me feel.

He chooses to wear all black, all the time, as if he’s waiting to attend a funeral. Probably because he is.

Everett is dying. And he’s spending his final days living, truly living. In doing so, he’s forcing me to feel, to heal. To come face to face with the demons I suppressed in my memory.

He hurts me, he fulfills me, he completes me. And still, he's dying

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"Ten words. Two sentences. And yet, it was the beginning of my entire life as I knew it, though I didn't know it when I first read the words"

 

We are introduced to Parker.  Parker is very closed off after a horrific event marked with scars all over her body. She doesn't talk to many people.  She doesn't go out. She holes her self in her room, away from society. Then, I text message meant for someone else changes everything.

 

Meet Everett. He's dying. It's not a spoiler. The description say it plain as day.  Everett and Parker embark on this crazy relationship where they can't even admit they are friends.  The words that are thrown around are "asshole, rude, I don't even like you, etc." I loved the banter back and forth and I loved some of the inner thoughts of Parker. Such as:

 

"I was finally feeling more than annoyance: I was feeling longing. For my stretched out yoga pants."

 

And then there is Everett. The things he said to Parker may sound rude and inappropriate but I saw through it. I knew that Parker just wanted to live the rest of his life with no apologizes. For me, I loved him more than Parker. I loved him because I knew that he was ready to die. I knew that this journey he took Parker one wasn't just to help her live but for him to live out his remaining days to his fullest.

 

"I don't need a thousand people to know I existed. I just want someone to know I lived."

 

Personally, towards the middle of the book I became a little annoyed with the banter. There were points where I just wanted to scream "ADMIT IT! YOU LOVE EACH OTHER". I felt it was childish.. but once they both started admitting their feelings I fell in love too.

 

There a few scenes in the book that I felt should have been expanded. But who doesn't want that with a lot of great books? By the end, I had tears in my eyes. I truly thought that this story was beautiful. It wasn't all about someone dying, it was about someone learning to live. Highly recommend!!!

 

"I don't want to merely exist, Parker.  I want to live. I want to leave the world with that one sweet moment. I want to take. and I want to dominate a memory. So when I'm gone, a part of me is left to live somewhere else."

 

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