Review of Not Broken, Just Bent

Not Broken, Just Bent by Mia Kerick

ebook, 180 pages
Published November 14th 2013 by Harmony Ink

Synopsis: Braving the start of high school, longtime childhood friends Benjamin Wells and Timmy Norton quickly realize they are entering a whole new world colored by their family responsibilities. Ben is trying to please his strict father; Timmy is taking care of his younger sisters. While their easy camaraderie is still comfortable, Ben notices Timmy growing distant and evasive, but Ben has his own problems. It’s easier to let concerns about Timmy’s home life slide, especially when Timmy changes directions and starts to get a little too close. Ben doesn’t know how to handle the new feelings Timmy’s desire for love inspires, and his continuing denial wounds Timmy deeply.

But what Timmy perceives as Ben’s greatest betrayal is yet to come, and the fallout threatens to break them apart forever. Over the next four years, the push and pull between them and the outside world twists and tears at Ben and Timmy, and they are haunted by fear and regret. However, sometimes what seems broken is just a little bent, and if they can find forgiveness within themselves, Ben and Timmy may be able to move forward together.

Rating: 4 stars

Review: There was a lot to like about this book. I enjoyed seeing the build-up of the relationship between Ben and Tim, being able to watch them grow up together and grow closer and closer. I'd say I thoroughly enjoyed the first two-thirds of the book, right up until the "pivotal moment," where the two boys were separated. The story fell apart for me at that point, mostly because of the way everyone reacted. I get the fact that boys at that age are immature, and that could explain some of the head-scratching reactions to the circumstances, but if the goal was to be realistic then it was directly contradicted by the thoroughly unrealistic plot turns. Somehow both the plotted circumstances and the reactions of not just the main characters, but also Ben's friends and his dad, all felt off. The best way I can explain it is when you have a math problem and you need to show not just the answer but also your "work" - how you got there. The answer is right and the work is right for the first 2/3 of the book, but then some numbers got mixed up so even though the answer still came out right, it wasn't solved correctly. Still, despite some of the problems I had with the story, it was well written and I cared about the characters, so it was a solid 4 to 4.25 star read for me, just not quite enough to take it up to 5 stars.