The C Word by Michelle MacQueen and Ann Maree Craven

Another Good Installment in Amazing Series

This book wraps up the story of the six teens that were intimately involved in a car crash that killed one of their group. The authors did an excellent job of wrapping up the various loose threads in the previous books as well as what happened in this book. We finally got to see the whole picture of what happened on that fateful night; Addison’s and Julian’s parts fleshed it all out. I was pleased to see a friendship renewed in this story; this was wholly separate from the romance. Addison and Julian’s story didn’t feel like it had quite as much depth as the first two books of the series, but the authors did still address some very weighty issues in this book, including sexual assault, bullying, peer pressure, and drunk driving. I hadn’t liked Addison in the other books because of the way she treated her former friend Peyton, but this book goes a long way to show how and why Addison changed. I absolutely loved Julian in this book. Honestly, he has intrigued me in the little part he played in each previous book because he seemed to be such a quiet, thoughtful, and helpful young man. I absolutely adored that his way of coping with all that happened was writing a romance story—one in which he could take the hero’s role and create a happy ending that was harder for him to attain in real life. What a delightful and good metaphor! I enjoyed how Julian and Addison’s relationship deepened in real life while they were carrying on an anonymous online relationship as well. In the latter, neither knew that it was the other that they were chatting with. Again, another well-done book in this series. I think that this series could do with one or two books more, one focusing on Becks (who is such an interesting character) and one focusing on Meghan (because I think she needs to learn a lesson or two about life!).