Sparrow by Mary Cecilia Jackson

Sparrow by Mary Cecilia Jackson is a YA Contemporary story surrounding ballerinas, abuse, and empowerment.

“In the tradition of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, a devastating but hopeful YA debut about a ballerina who finds the courage to confront the abuse that haunts her past and threatens her future.

There are two kinds of people on the planet. Hunters and prey I thought I would be safe after my mother died. I thought I could stop searching for new places to hide. But you can’t escape what you are, what you’ve always been.
My name is Savannah Darcy Rose.
And I am still prey.

Though Savannah Rose―Sparrow to her friends and family―is a gifted ballerina, her real talent is keeping secrets. Schooled in silence by her long-dead mother, Sparrow has always believed that her lifelong creed―“I’m not the kind of girl who tells”―will make her just like everyone else: Normal. Happy. Safe. But in the aftermath of a brutal assault by her seemingly perfect boyfriend Tristan, Sparrow must finally find the courage to confront the ghosts of her past, or lose herself forever…. ”

Please note that this book contains content surrounding abuse, suicide and assault.

I was kind of disappointed with this book.

I had such high hopes as I really love diving into YA Contemporaries with hard-hitting storylines and emotional, raw characters finding self-discovery.

And as soon as I read the synopsis of a ballerina and her abuse, I knew this one was going to be all the feels.

Unfortunately, the writing style was too jumbled and disconnected. The content itself was a great intro, but then I realized that the timeline jumped drastically from paragraph to paragraph without any distinction of it happening. One minute I was reading her new relationship and by the end of the page, they had been together for three months already? It just kept happening with no distinction in between..

I really wanted to dive so deep into this book but it just wasn’t executed correctly. So, I ended up giving it only a 2 out of 5 stars. I think that if it was less scrambled, this could easily have been a 4/5 star book.

Published: 17 March 2020

Publisher: Tor Teen

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Pages: 320

How I Read It: eARC from NetGalley

*Disclaimer: I requested a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All of my reviews contain my honest opinions only and are not influenced in any way.*

Interested in reading this book for yourself??