Representation: N/A
Trigger warnings: Divorce, pregnancy, childbirth, stillbirth, animal attack and implied physical injury and animal death
Score: Five out of ten.
I own this book. Find this review on The StoryGraph.

What They Told Me was my least favourite book from Hayley Lawrence by far. I had to buy it since no library had it, and wanted to love this one until I saw the low ratings and realised I've read a novel this before. I glanced at the blurb, which didn't look that original. When I closed the final page, What They Told Me needed improvement. Skin Deep and The Other Side of Tomorrow were better than this.

It starts with Elliot living in a place called Crooked River with her family in the opening pages, that is until her parents divorce and soon plan to separate, much to Elliot's dismay. What They Told Me started well but after the first few pages it quickly deteriorates. The characters are only the beginning of the issues I saw in Lawrence's latest work, as they were hard to connect or relate with at first, especially Elliot, who I found hard to . Her dialogue was irritating and she thought it was selfish for her parents to divorce, even though it isn't. Lawrence tried to make Elliot grow on me, and it eventually worked, but Elliot's earlier lines left a sour taste in my mouth. I suppose the author wrote Elliot that way to make it more realistic, but I prefer likable characters. I that it's character driven (even though it's not literary fiction. It's YA.)

The pacing is slow for a narrative under 400 pages, but removing filler pages could quicken it and improve the reading experience. The plot is easy enough to follow, and I d the theme of divorce and the message about not being able to control everything, but this is the third story I read about this topic. Coincidence? Perhaps, but I'm tired of reading pieces of fiction on the same subject. The other people, Elliot's friend, Drake, were mostly in the background, and I wanted to see more of them, but the author didn't dedicate enough page time for them. The flow can get disjointed sometimes with non-linear flashbacks, but What They Told Me could work fine without them. Making the progression more linear would help me enjoy it more. The climax is bittersweet as Elliot realises she can keep some aspects of her life before the divorce, but not all, as her mother moves to a new house, leaving Elliot and her father behind.This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review2-stars 2000s-2100s death ...more6 s1 comment Victoria Murfett17

Having read Hayley Lawrences other books, this was not my favourite. It feels the main character coming to terms with divorce took the entire book, and divorce was explained 10 different times that took a bunch of pages. It was way too exaggerated, and it felt a book i finished because I wanted to get it over with. However the main characters feelings were understandable, and i feel that the small romance was good, although it couldve been more. Not a bad book, but not the most captivating read.
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