Release Book Review

---

Release is a coming-of-age story centring on Adam Thorn; contemplating his identity while living with parents who are far from accepting, there is a lot for him to juggle. His best friend thankfully is completely on his side and so we see Adam dealing with his parents, addressing feelings for his ex while starting a relationship with his new boyfriend, and all the while being in his senior year of high school. Meanwhile, there’s a girl who’s been murdered and whose ghost has just risen from a lake, and she’s searching for something…

Now I will be the first to admit the synopsis I’ve written above isn’t great, to be honest, I only understood the main narrative of this and everything to do with he ghost was completely lost on me. I think Ness is a beautiful writer, and perhaps the magical realism was a way for him to write beautifully just for the sake of it, but I was really hoping the two narratives would connect more than they did!

That aside, I adored everything about Adam’s narrative; it was a touching coming-of-age story that focused so much on acceptance and identity and a boy who just wanted everyone to be okay but has parents who feared so much the fact he’s gay. As a protagonist I loved Adam but also his friend and boyfriend were truly special too. The love and support they have for each other was beautiful and this is the kind of young adult story that communicates so powerfully the wisdom that teenagers can possess, and the fact that the adults are often the ones in need of a lesson.

If I can give any advice before you pick up this book, it’s just roll with everything you don’t understand. I’m not saying you will understand by the end, but Adam’s story is so beautiful that it didn’t matter that there was a whole section of the book that went straight over my head!