Ten Below Zero by Whitney Barbetti

“In here,” he said, pushing on the skin above my heart, “you're ten below zero. And you’re closer to death than I am.”

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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I got this book off of a recommendation from tumblr. The title and the cover intrigued me and the tumblr user said it was one of her favorite books so I had to check it out.

This book was amazing. I loved being in Parkers head. Things in life aren’t always so pretty and we see that in this book. It’s real and raw. It was interesting seeing Parkers point of view. When it came time for her to meet Everett I was so nervous! I really enjoyed the way the whole meet up happened. When we found out about Everett I thought this book was going to destroy me. (read it to find out if it did *wink*)

I feel like the book teaches you a lot. It teaches you that bad things can and do happen in life but those moments do not have to take over your life. In the words of Everett “It’s good to feel.” Sometimes you have to fight, and Parker and Everett did just that. 

By the end of the book Parker has had so much character development. I love how Everett came into her life and forced her to feel and think about things and really see herself. I really recommend this book for anyone, so go pick it up and get to reading! 

5 Stars!

Quotes I loved:

“This world has only one sweet moment set aside for us.
I want one sweet moment, one moment in my memory to hold on to when my soul leaves this earth.”

“Don’t smile, Parker,” Everett said, leaning in to me. “It would look weird on your face.”

*squeeze squeeze squeeze*