Perhaps the best way for me to explain how I feel about ALL OUR BROKEN PIECES by L.D. Crichton is to tell you that once I started reading, I literally could not stop. I devoured this 400-page book in a matter of hours, which unfortunately for me included some of the wee hours of the morning because I made the mistake of starting it before bed thinking I’d just read a few chapters. Yeah, not so much! When I finally finished sometime between 1:30 and 2:00 a.m., I’d laughed and raged and cried (all quietly, of course) and had a dazed look in my eyes and a goofy smile on my face. This book immediately became one of my favorite reads of this first half of 2019.

Our main characters are Kyler and Lennon, and the story is told in alternating chapters from both points of view (one of my favorite storytelling methods, especially with contemporary novels). Their voices are so distinct and beautifully crafted, and I could not possibly love their stories more. Lennon, who has a serious case of OCD, has just moved from Maine to California to live with her father and his second wife after the death of her mother; Kyler is the “damaged” bad boy next door. When they are paired up in English class for a project, they are each reluctant to get to know the other, but slowly develop a friendship that becomes something more. I felt like I was sitting in the tree house with them as I read, and I felt their emotions as if they were my own. Kyler and Lennon coming up with potential band names and taglines is maybe my favorite thing about this book :)

In addition to the character voices and the great storytelling, I have to also give a nod to the design of the book, particularly when it comes to Kyler’s chapters; since he is a creative singer/songwriter, the drawings and lyrics and random deep thoughts at the start of each chapter are simply perfect. Little things like that can add so much to the flavor of a story and to helping the reader feel the essence of a character. Similarly, with Lennon, the visual manifestation of her OCD is touching, even startling on her worst days. If you’ve never really thought about what it would feel like to have such anxiety and obsessive compulsions, I guarantee you will after reading this.

Ms. Crichton handles the burdens each of the characters carry with compassion and care. Both Kyler and Lennon help each other to see themselves as so much more than just their “broken” parts, and they give each other courage to go beyond letting that one thing define themselves. ALL OUR BROKEN PIECES is an incredible love story, a coming-of-age tale, and a reminder that we are all complex, beautiful humans who cannot be reduced to One Thing. Ms. Crichton reminds us not to let others define us, nor to let others dictate our worth. Sometimes all you need is one person in your corner to help you break free of society’s strictures and blossom into the confident, complex person you are meant to be.

I cannot recommend ALL OUR BROKEN PIECES highly enough. I hope every one of you will pick this one up -- and I defy you to put it down once you have! To Ms. Crichton: Thank you so much for telling this beautiful story; Kyler and Lennon will live on in my heart!

RATING: 5 stars!

**Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for purposes of this blog tour. This review i voluntary on my part and reflects my honest rating and review.

My Thoughts:

I was intrigued when I read the book synopsis for, All Our Broken Pieces. I've never read about a character with O.C.D before, and wanted to delve in to the mind of a person with this disorder, as well as to see what triggered it, and if it was something that could be overcome. I enjoy stories with broken characters, that can find the strength to heal and overcome their challenges, because I think that's part of what we encounter in our lives; numerous challenges that we can either buckle from, or rise above; like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

All Our Broken Pieces is told through the perspectives of both Lennon Davis, and Kyler Benton. Lennon has moved from Maine to Southern California, due to the recent death of her mother; in order to live with her father and his new family. She suffers from severe anxiety. She has a lot of fears and ruminates on death. Lennon's O.C.D is used as a coping mechanism in order to keep her anxiety under control, and she draws comfort and a sense of security from her ritualistic behaviors. She feels that if she doesn't give in to these compulsions someone that she loves will be seriously injured or die. Unfortunately, Lennon blames herself for her mother's death, and consequently her O.C.D. has become more extreme.

Kyler is the lead singer and guitarist in a garage band and has a passion for music. He has a horrible relationship with his father, and this along with the scarring on one side of his face, from a childhood accident, is the cause of most of his anguish. When Lennon moves in next door to Kyler, and he catches a glimpse of her, he is intrigued. Even though he only see's her from behind, he just knows that she is beautiful.

When Lennon and Kyler are paired up on a modern day Romeo and Juliet Project for their English class, these two broken souls find a mirror in one another. What begins as a friendship blossoms in to a love that gives them both the hope, courage, and strength that they need; in order to try to mend their broken pieces, and truly live....

All Our Broken Pieces was such a page turner! When I first began the story, I was not sure if I was going to like it because, while I immediately loved Lennon's character, Kyler's came off as brash, angry, and bitter. He was really rough around the edges. As the story really began to develop, we see that Kyler is a bit of a recluse, and has erected huge walls around himself. He wears hoodies everyday in order to hide his physical appearance from the world.

The only people he lets in are his mother, younger sister Macy, and band mates. Kyler is blunt, but also fiercely loyal, honest, and the type of person anyone would be lucky to have on their side. Needless to say, as Lennon got to know Kyler, so did I, and we both fell in love with him!

Lennon's character was a sweetheart. There wasn't a mean bone in her body, and I loved watching her interaction with her little half-brother Jacob. As Kyler and Lennon began to confide in one another and become closer, we see them both become more courageous and reach past their comfort zones. They really fight to combat the scars that lie within, and to have a life worth living.

All Our Broken Pieces was a unique and entertaining story, with well-developed and likable realistic characters, loveable secondary characters that added to the story, and profound life lessons!

Super cute teen romance that gives a convincing portrayal of OCD and offers uplifting examples of healthy family dynamics. One can't help but root for Lennon, a girl wrestling with her compulsion in the wake of her mother's untimely death, and Kyler, a boy scarred from a tragic childhood accident who looks tough and unapproachable on the outside but has a heart of gold on the inside. Felt like it could have been 50 or even 100 pages shorter, but overall an enjoyable tale of acceptance, courage, and love.

Okay. I have feelings about this book that I'm still trying to understand. When I started reading, I was all in—instantly hooked. I remained that way for probably the first half. Then it kind of went off the rails.

Readers get a really incredible inside look into the mind of a girl with pretty severe obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). We get to explore in extreme detail how Lennon experiences a panic attack and how toxic and damaging her intrusive thoughts are. I think this was a really great teaching moment for readers to show how everyone can experience mental health issues differently. In all, I think the mental health representation was incredibly strong until we got towards the end of the book.  It became a little unbelievable once Lennon had her major breakdown. 

YA books can sometimes be over the top, but that's because the time of your life when you are a young adult feels so over the top. You are feeling so many feelings at such an amped up volume. When you're a teen, everything feels like the end of the world. One decision can change your entire life. You don't get any sort of insight until you've had more life experiences and you mature. I think that was the major problem here for our couple. Everything with Kyler and Lennon was so exaggerated and while I think that works in young adult books, I think it went a little too far.  

So while I think the writing was really beautiful and expressive, for me, the story got off track and too over the top towards the end and that's why I rated it a little lower than I usual would. 

I was sent an e-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Two teens- one with scars on the outside, one with internal battles- fall in love, even while the world around them tries to tear them apart.

Oh my heart! So sweet and starcrossed & romantic!

Andrea was a bit over the top & the events were a tad overblown at times, but I loved the way the two of them helped each other work through their issues.
Ahh, young love!

I didn’t even get four chapters in. The main characters didn’t even get to meet! But if I forced myself to read a single word more from Kyler’s perspective, I would literally have to rip out all of my hair to make up for his fuckboi, not-a-care-in-the-world defensive attitude. No thanks. I want this to be good and maybe the message is, but the vessel is awful and I will not be subjecting myself to that.

I’m always on the lookout for a great young adult book dealing with mental health, as it’s a topic that matters very, very dearly to me. All Our Broken Pieces made it onto my to-read list because of that, because I’m always looking forward to reading some new voices and, just because it sounded quite good.

I have to say that I was surprised, because I loved it so much more than I thought I would.

GREAT MAIN CHARACTERS CARRYING THE STORY.
☂️
Before getting into this review, I need to start by stating two things. First, that I am not affected with OCD and therefore, my review is not #ownvoices for that. Second, that, whether or not you are affected with OCD and anxious thoughts, All Our Broken Pieces is an intense read and the strong, realistic and painful descriptions of what the main character Lennon is going through can be quite intense to read at times, so if that could affect you, take care of yourself (See the full list of trigger warnings below!).

Now that this is out there, I can properly start this by stating… wow. All Our Broken Pieces surprised me a lot in such a great way. I am all for great, character-driven contemporaries and the author perfectly developed her characters, making them three-dimensional, believable and so easy to root for, too. They were not perfect, they were flawed, they made mistakes, they are teenagers in love, teenagers struggling, teenagers feeling all the things and I just could see everything while reading this book. I loved it.



Lennon, our main character, deals with OCD and the exploration of it being a part of her, of her trying to overcome her struggles, of her own thought-process, sometimes overwhelmingly intense to read, was so, so good. It broke my heart at times and, at other times, it made me need to stop reading for a second to gather my thoughts, because despite not having OCD myself, I found a lot of my anxiety issues and thought-process sometimes mirrored in Lennon’s experience. I loved Lennon’s growth through the story. I loved that she was vulnerable and that she was realistic about her own mental health, but I also loved how strong she was, too. I admired her a lot and rooted for her so, so very much.

Told from two POV, we also get to know Kyler, our other main character in All Our Broken Pieces. Kyler has half of his face scarred from an house-fire accident when he was just about 5-years old and, just like Lennon, he has he own demons to fight. And boy, does he do it well. Kyler’s growth through the story was amazing to follow as he became more and more confident and I just rooted for him so, so much.

AN ADORABLE ROMANCE AND GREAT FAMILY VIBES.
☂️
All Our Broken Pieces has a romance at its heart, yes, and something I loved about this story is how Lennon and Kyler both grew as individuals and took strength and inspiration from each other, without the “cure each other” storyline. Or at least, it didn’t feel that way to me. From slowly getting to know each other to paperplane love letters, Lennon and Kyler’s romance was slow-burning and adorable from the start, I loved it so much.

The two main characters’ families are also present, even if they’re not perfect at all. Lennon is moving in with her father, her step-mother, step-sister and step-brother at the start of the book and I loved seeing her bonding with her little step brother Jacob, they had some of the best interactions EVER. I appreciated seeing how Claire, her step-mother, was so supportive and the growth of the family as a whole was so interesting, too. On the other hand, if we get a complicated family relationship between Kyler and his own, especially his father, it was so interesting to read their dynamics. Thankfully, Kyler had such a great little sister I adored, too and YAY for all the great family vibes.

OVERALL
☂️
All Our Broken Pieces hasn’t made much noise in the upcoming releases area so far, and I’m here to hype it up just because it needs to. I loved it so, so very much. It had great characters, a wonderful romance that warmed my heart, adorable siblings bonding and it was just such a wonderful read I 200% recommend.

What a wonderful story about Lennon and Kyler. The author takes the ya romance and fills it with one of the best representations of OCD I've read in a very long time. The characters are well written and both are dealing with realistic issues in their lives. This will be added to my school library! Thank you netgalley for this arc.

One of the best books I’ve read in a long time. I read it in one sitting and it literally kept me up all night. I love the relationship between Kyler and Lennon. Everyone has a little crazy in them, the trick is to find the crazy that compliments your crazy.

I had read the author's previous book and really enjoyed it, so I requested this one without really absorbing the synopsis. And when it came time to read it, I was a bit apprehensive...I don't do angsty times well, but I was still excited to get to it. Man, I'm so happy I read it.

I love love loved Lennon and Kyler. They're both so smart and snarky and struggling. I enjoyed seeing how their relationship progressed and while they were hopelessly in love, it never felt like one couldn't go on without the other. I'm pretty sure Lennon's little brother was the best part of the entire story and I loved how Lennon and Kyler both included him.

Plot wise, it didn't go in the way I was expecting and I loved it. The majority of the story is angsty-lite, but there is a bit conflict. My main complaint about this story is that the person who caused the conflict was punished off the page and there wasn't a real apology. That was something I was irritated about -- the small scene towards the end just wasn't enough for me.

I don't know much about OCD, but this book was quite informative when it came to explaining how a person with Lennon's rituals sees things. It felt authentic and didn't romanticize anything. I truly hope this story helps.

Overall, it was an amazing and captivating read. This is definitely one of my top books of 2019.

**Huge thanks to Hyperion for providing the arc free of charge**

A mix of Beauty and The Beast, Phantom of the Opera, and Romeo & Juliet, plus a real talk about how to live mental health issues, especially OCD.

Lennon has OCD and this only got worse when her passed away in a car accident—for which she feels responsible.She now needs to live all the way in Los Angeles with her father's new family, which includes an evil stepsister and a charming mysterious neighbor. Enters Kyler, whose face has a horrible scar from a fire he survived when an infant. The two get each other and soon a romance develops, to the distaste of both families, who believe it's not healthy for either of them.

I'm torn between calling this interesting and a bit boring. Because I thought how both teenagers' issues were presented to be interesting yes. But then we're left with this weird romance, constantly compared to R&J's tragedy. Which really put me off. (Don't get me wrong, their personal issues were indeed big, but the drama wasn't about them, but about how their parents didn't like them together... BORING!)

Considering the intended audience are teenagers and I remember liking some drama back then, I can see it not bothering them. For me, I wasn't ever into emo culture and I'm past all that drama too, so it just made me go, WHYYYY??? It just seemed too little for too much reaction, especially considering all the real problems they'd been through before. Though I'm probably that bothered because way more than half the book goes on and on and on about the same (non-)issue, I'd prefer it if it took less space in the story.

But this book has many up sides. Lennon's stepmother is my favorite character. She punctuates from the beginning she's no evil stepmother, and the book shows that to us again and again how cool she is. Kudos! And I liked the parts about music, the lives. Above all, the approach on mental health. They focused on how people treat those with those issues and it was an eye-opener to me. I really like it in the beginning when Lennon explains to her little brother how she feels about OCD and mentions how her father definitely didn't know how to explain it. That was a very memorable scene.

I do think there's a public for this and it did add something, but it could have been much more with better editing.

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for allowing me to read the ARC of All Our Broken Pieces, by L.D. Crichton. Being a teenager is not always an easy time in life, but having marked differences makes life harder for Lennon and Kyler. Lennon, living with OCD and mourning the loss of her mother, moves from Maine and her best friend to live with her father and step family in Bel-Air. Kyler, the next door neighbor and singer in a band, clad in a hoody to cover the visible scar on his face, watches her from his tree house, his getaway from people and their stares. Lennon and Kyler form a friendship that will help them discover their worth and see hope for a brighter future.

I was surprisingly swept away by this book. Lennon and Kyler easily started to become two of my favorite broken people that I have ever read about. I read this in one afternoon. Once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down. I became quite invested in these two characters.

These two are different but also one and the same and really became important to each other. They both had scars and insecurities and found something similar in each other. The feels that the author puts you through was astounding and it showed so much intensity and strength.

This book focuses heavily on Lennon’s OCD, so if that is triggering for you then I would either skip this one or wait until you are in a headspace where you can read it.

I do feel that things were a bit too tidy at the end of this book, but oh well. These two had been through so much that them just having each other was worth it.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and would stay that this was a really good debut! Like I said before, make sure that you are in the right headspace to read the topics of this book.

✨A review will be posted to blog closer to the release date!✨

Title: All Our Broken Pieces
Author: L.D. Crichton
Genre: YA Contemporary
Publication Date: May 7th, 2019
Rating: 5 stars

eARC provided by publisher (Disney-Hyperion) through NetGalley

->Click for Synopsis<-

Lennon Davis suffers from OCD and her mind is filled with thoughts and counting. When circumstances arise and she is sent to live with her father, stepmom, and two step-siblings, she finds comfort in a new friend and neighbor named Kyler Benton. He also knows what it's like to be an outcast and they help each other cope with everyday teenage drama.

As I started the book, I wasn't really feeling the character, Kyler. He seemed somewhat full of himself and tough. I guess you could say he had a hard exterior. An incident in his past has him holding back from his dream of playing live with his band. As the book went on and he is introduced to the new girl named Lennon, he transforms into so much more.Lennon is unique in that she has OCD. I can't say that I have ever read a book with someone who has this disorder. She was interesting and witty and I loved the vibe between her and Kyler. He made her feel normal, as normal as one could be with a disorder. They both bring out the best in each other and find ways to bring each other out of their shell.

The book doesn't exactly have chapters but is separated by their point of views and it is easy to become connected to them because of it. The author did a great job of bringing their thoughts alive and giving us a glimpse into a mind of someone with OCD.

Their story has a lot of issues that teens face, whether it be at school or home. There are fights with parents and cyber-bullying. The emotions from the characters are portrayed well and will have you drowning in feelings. My eyes were tearing up multiple times!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was full of great characters, a cute relationship, and issues that effect teens today. If you are a fan of contemporary then give this book a try!

Kyler and Lennon are teenagers and broken. Kyler suffered severe burns to his face as a young child, disfiguring him for life. Lennon suffers from extreme OCD, and just lost her mom in a tragic drunk driving accident. Now Lennon has had to move to Los Angeles, Bel Air to be exact, to live with her father and step-family. Lennon and Kyler live next door to one another now. Can two broken teens find happiness in being allowed to be their honest and original selves with one another? Thrown together to complete a high school English assignment, Lennon and Kyler find out that sometimes being broken isn’t such an awful thing when you have a partner with which to face the broken-ness.

Crichton has written a YA novel which touches on issues that teens feel all the time - being outsiders in an inside world. There isn’t a teen who doesn’t have something to face, whether visible like Kyler’s scars, or invisible (mostly) like Lennon’s OCD. What makes this book so fabulous is the way that Crichton shares the reality of living with these unique qualities and how even if you are broken, you can live a full and satisfying life.

Yes, this book definitely shows all of this in a perfect setting - living in Bel Air, having oodles of money, driving nice cars, etc. Yet even with the fairytale surroundings, the book does talk about the reality of being a teen. No matter perfect or not, the teenage years are challenging. Everyone has something and no one should be singled out for being different. The message that this book shares is very important.

Kudos to Crichton for writing a book that is a little bit fantasy and a lotta bit reality with a happy ending. Not all stories like Kyler’s and Lennon’s end happily, but hopefully with more books like this, teens will realize that different doesn’t necessarily equate to bad or lesser. Differences can make people special. Excellent lessons and reading in this one.

This review will be posted at BookwormishMe.com close to publication date.

This wasn't a book for me. As a mother of four girls I could not get over Lennon's attitude of not being able to live happily without Kyler. Granted that is probably how some teenage girls feel when it comes to their first love. I'm just not one of those and have never been. I come from a family of strong willed women, so that irked me to no avail. The beginning was very fun to read though and I loved the Kyler and his dramatic, emo feelings and his accepting of Lennon's OCD and stepping out of his comfort zone for her. But as the story went along and the obvious Romeo and Juliet family feud, which didn't seem to quite fit into the narrative in my opinion, it was a bit of a struggle to finish it.

This book was so freaking ADORABLE. And perfect. And amazing. I really loved it to no end. I loved Lennon and Kyler so much. I love how they both had scars, how they both felt like they were on the outside, how one's scars were visible, and the other's not. I loved how they understood one another in a way no one else ever would.

I will say, the story got a little long at times, where it felt like the same things were happening over and over, and it wasn't until the very end with the bit of drama that something really happened. And even that was a little blown out of proportion.

I loved little Jacob and how he was a true superhero slash investigative reporter. He was the best. I loved Kyler's bandmates and little sister, and Lennon's Levi, Claire, and dad were all great characters.

It was a really good, emotionally charged wonder of a book about scars and OCD and what it means to be weird and accept that about yourself. I really recommend it to anyone looking for a cute romance with a good dose of mental health awareness <3

"You all right?"
"Is anyone all right, really?"

A beautiful story full of intensity, sadness, passion, and strength. This is what makes YA such a phenomenal genre. LD Crichton nailed this story with beauty, compassion and sincerity. Kyler and Lennon were a dynamic pair whose chemistry and complexity bled off of every page.
Crichton did a wonderful job of bringing first love, peer influences, teenage social difficulties, mental illness and grief all together in a heartwarming, poetic and intelligent story. A story blended with a love of music, literature and taking chances.
I don't always like to compare authors as they are their own by all rights but Crichton's words were so polished yet raw that they reminded me of a Katie McGarry or Simone Elkeles book-- real and beautiful.
D 5/5

I'm always thrilled to see more teen/ya books that handle mental health issues like OCD. While this was a good read there were a lot of long-winded diatribes that I just skimmed over. In some spots, it felt like the author was trying too hard to fit in with teens and it felt fake.

All Our Broken Pieces by L.D. Crichton (May 7)
Overview: Lennon is taking over Bel-Air... well, not really. Lennon is forced to move in with her dad and step mom after her mom passes away. The traumatic event has brought Lennon's OCD out in full force, and all the change isn't helping the matter. Then she meets her neighbor, Kyler, the boy who was handsome, or so everyone in the neighborhood says. The left side of his face is scared from a house fire when he was a child. Kyler hides his scars with hoodies while Lennon tries to keep her tapping and other compulsions from people's notice. That is, until, they find each other. Overall: 5

Characters: 5 I am so in love with Kyler and Lennon! Kyler is like the ultimate book boyfriend. He's a musician (that writes amazing lyrics!), hot, blunt, somewhat broody/mysterious, and an outsider. He's also the sweetest person you'll ever meet. Even though Kyler sometimes gets it wrong when it comes to understanding and being sensitive of Lennon's OCD, he genuinely tries. He loves her for and with her quirks, and he makes her feel that they are normal and okay.
Lennon feels a kinship with Kyler because of the shame he feels about his scars. While Kyler tries to hide his external differences, Lennon tries to fight her internal panic. The depiction of Lennon's OCD is compelling and accurate. She has bad and good days and days that are totally given to spirals, but she never loses herself in them. She's caring and kind, the calming eye of Kyler's thunderstorm.
I also loved Lennon's therapist and both Kyler and Lennon's family. All of these characters were well fleshed out to the point where they have their own driving narratives. Knowing the world around them so intimately helps fully pull you into the story.

Plot: 5 I could not put this book down. There are so many awesome and interconnected storylines, there's plenty to keep you entertained. Kyler and Lennon continually fight for their relationship, to overcome the Romeo and Juliet archetype. They also fight for themselves. Kyler learns to accept how he looks now because Lennon loves him for it, and Lennon learns to love her mind, even if it betrays her sometimes, because of Kyler's love for her. I love that their healing processes are not because of their love interest. They are totally self driven, but their partner is there to encourage and help bring out the best in them. I also love the developing family storylines and how it's sometimes difficult for parents to fully grasp what their child is dealing with and how to best respond.

Writing: 5 The dialogue in this book is amazing! It's witty, it's fast, and it's fresh, and I am head over heels for it. Crichton draws all the elements together to produce the perfect story that makes you feel like you're living in it. Every crisis is pressing, and your happiness is wrapped up with the character's success. Every note is hit perfectly.

This review will be posted here: http://www.readingwritingandme.com the final week of April.