Before I let go by Marieke Nijkamp: A Book review

Before I let go by Marieke Nijkamp: A Book review

I picked this book when I was looking for another book of Marieke Nijkamp and I could not find it on the store. I read the blurb, which I rarely do, and got ready to dig into the mystery set in the obscure town near Alaska. Let us see how Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp turned into, alright?

If you like reading about mental health with diverse characters you might like Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp. Would pace of the book make you like or dislike it?Read my review here. Click To Tweet

About Before I let go

Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp Cover

Book Name: Before I let go

Author: Marieke Nijkamp

Genre: Fiction – Drama, Young Adult

Characters: Corey, Kyra

Setting: Alaska, The USA

Plot summary of Before I let go

The story begins with Corey returning to her small town called Lost Creek,
Alaska after she heard her best friend Kyra is dead. As she tries to understand what happened to Kyra, Corey is pushed away from the very town she grew up in and lived for sixteen years. 

Kyra and Corey have been best friends since childhood. They have stood together through thick and thin, especially when Kyra was diagnosed as bipolar and the villagers started treating her differently.

But now everything appears to have changed. Everyone speaks of Kyra lovingly and treats her like someone special, now that she has gone. What happened in the past few months and how did Kyra even die? You need to read Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp to know more. 

Book review of Before I let go

For starters, I don’t think it was meant to be a mystery novel, thanks for nothing, Goodreads!, because there was no suspense, like at all. Somewhere in the middle of the book, we already know the ‘what, when, why and how’. The plot had a lot of things going on, but the storyline became so predictable and lacked pace. 

Well, the book talks about mental illness and the kids are sexually diverse (a pansexual and an asexual) but I can not be the judge of the realness of the representation. The atmosphere was creepy and sinister until the end, which I liked. 

Things that worked for me

  • The friendship between Kyra and Corey was strong. The whole story revolved around that instead of romance. for a change.
  • I liked the writing style and it kept me invested until the end despite the other flaws.
  • I liked the eerie setting and frankly just reading about this small town in a remote place.

Things that didn’t work for me

  • I felt the pace was so slow and it became kinda repetitive after a while. 
  • I didn’t particularly relate to any of the characters, which were bland and flat.
  • The non-lead characters seemed under developed as well.

Bottom line

Before I let go talks a lot about strong friendship in an eerie and hostile environment. If you like reading about mental health with diverse characters you might like Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp.

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Have you read Before I let go by Marieke Nijkamp? Would pace of the book make you like or dislike it? Have you read this one? Let us talk.