carolina's Reviews > Keeping 13

"For keeps?" I breathed.
He kissed my shoulder. "For keeps?”

[Fair warning, this review is long]

I know I've only read two books, but I can already say that this series is going to join my list of all time favourites. I am deeply in love with the characters in these books and their story, I feel so connected and attached to them and it's surreal to think that I have once again opened the doors of my heart and welcomed another found family. What can I say, I have a thing for broken souls and a lot of love to give them 😌

"That's how you make me feel" she whispered, blue eyes burning their way right down to my soul. "Better. Alive. Free. Safe. Important. I feel like I can breathe for the first time in days and that's only because you're here - because I'm with you."

I don't know how to describe the adventure that was reading this book, it made me feel so many things, I laughed so hard and sobbed to the point where I felt like I was going to throw up. People aren't kidding when they say this book is painful and emotional 💔

Keeping 13 isn't a perfect book, there's a lot of repetition and unnecessary scenes, and the number of times it's mentioned that Shannon is tiny and Johnny is big gets annoying, but honestly, these little issues pale in comparison to everything else. I easily ignored them because I had the best time ever reading this book. And I don't care if some scenes are irrelevant because I was just happy to spend time with the characters and those moments, even if they were incredibly mundane and redundant, made me feel like I was witnessing their daily lives. I savoured every moment of this book, good and bad, and it made me appreciate the story and the characters so much more.

The writing in this book is so much better than in the first one, it's not the most beautifully written book ever, but there's definitely an improvement. And the formatting of the text was so much better, thank god there wasn't a crazy amount of one line paragraphs like in the first book lol.

This series is very character driven, which I adore, but I felt there was a bit more plot in this book and it was so realistic. It could've easily gone down the road of being overly dramatic, but the way the author handled the very serious issues the book deals with was amazing. It was raw and genuine and it felt so real because, unfortunately, it's a reality that a lot of families are faced with. I don't want to go into too much detail about what happens in the book, but I will say that it shattered my heart. It's heartbreaking to see children shouldering the responsibilities of adults, being forced to grow up so quickly and endure a life of abuse. No one deserves to live in fear of their lives every day, worrying and panicking and wondering if today is going to be their last day 🥺

With that being said, please check trigger warnings for this series.

The characters are incredible. I know some people will disagree, but I think they have so much depth and they feel so real to me. I was afraid I would find them childish and immature because they're all teenagers and I don't usually like to read books with characters so young, but I'm glad that's not the case with this series. Of course there are a lot of silly scenes of them acting like stupid kids, but everyone showed a lot of maturity and responsibility when it was needed.

"I want your trouble, and your complications, and everything else that comes with you."

ೃ⁀➷ Shannon
I know some people see her as weak, but she's a survivor. She lived in a hellish environment for most of her life, but she remained kind and open hearted. I lived for all the moments when she was happy and carefree and able to be a teenage girl and have fun. I think she's incredibly strong and resilient and I love her. I feel so connected to her.

ೃ⁀➷ Johnny
He is the perfect book boyfriend (he's so much older in my head, otherwise I'd be creeped out by my huge crush on him lol). It's so hard for me to find anything negative to say about him because he's such a nice guy. He's respectful, kind, responsible, empathetic, funny, intelligent and so hard working. sighs, he's so dreamy and I want a Johnny for myself 😮‍💨

ೃ⁀➷ Shannon and Johnny
They have my whole heart 🥹🥰💖 Their love is so believable, I could feel it all around me. They communicated so well with each other, Johnny was so patient with Shannon and her insecurities, and that was so refreshing to read. It's not often I come across a romance like this where the characters are able to talk to each other and work through their issues instead of fighting all the time. I appreciate that there is no stupid conflict in this book. Shannon and Johnny remained strong to the end.

"I love you, Shannon like the river," he said then, breaking through my depressing thoughts. "Only you." Leaning back so that I had no choice but to lift my face and look at him, he smirked. "Like a crazy fucking amount."
"I love you, too," I strangled out, voice thick with emotion, giving him back his words. "Like a crazy fucking amount.”

I can't not mention some of the other characters because they made the book 10x better and they all stole my heart. The friendships in this book are to die for, Gibsie and Johnny's bromance is my favourite, I love this chaotic duo.

ೃ⁀➷ Gibsie
He's hilarious and insane. Half the time I can't believe the things that come out of his mouth. I love him so much and he made me laugh out loud so many times. But there was one particular scene with him that broke my heart and just goes to show that sometimes the happiest people hide some really big secrets. I can't wait to find out more about him!

ೃ⁀➷ Claire
She's a little ball of sunshine and I appreciate how good of a friend she was to Shannon. Her dynamic with Gibsie is so weird but adorable and I can't wait to read their book when it comes out. I need more of them.

ೃ⁀➷ Mr. & Mrs. Kavanagh
Johnny’s parents are the absolute best and deserve to be worshipped. I'm being very serious! No wonder Johnny turned out so amazing, he has the most incredible parents. Not only are they so cool and funny, they're very supportive and kind, it was so beautiful to see how they helped the Lynch's and gave them the love and support they've lacked all their lives.

ೃ⁀➷ The Lynch brothers
Sean, Taghd and Ollie stole my heart and ran away with it. I can't get over how cute they are and I especially loved the scenes with them and Johnny, they were incredibly endearing and sweet 🥹

ೃ⁀➷ Joey
And I saved the best for last, Joey Lynch. He already has my heart. This boy did everything to keep his family together, taking on the role of father and mother and spent his whole life picking up the broken pieces left behind by his parents. No child should have to carry all that responsibility and it broke my soul to see Joey go down such a dangerous path. He's drowning in guilt and self-loathing and I just want to save him 😭 I'm scared to read his books, I know it's going to hurt, but at the same time I'm really looking forward to it. I can't wait to get inside his head and to explore his relationship with Aiofe.

"It's okay," she whispered, leaning over his broad shoulders to hold him close. "You can't scare me away." Her blonde hair pillowed around them as she whispered, "You're mine, remember?”

- this scene was so heartbreaking 😭❤️‍🩹

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

The romance is a big part of these books, but Keeping 13 shows that this series is more than just a love story. If you look deep into these books, you'll find a story of survival and resilience. It's raw and emotional and painful, but it's also beautiful and heartwarming.