Book Review: My Beautiful Failure by Janet Ruth Young

Title: My Beautiful Failure
Author: Janet Ruth Young
First published: November 13th 2012

Genre: YA, Realistic fiction
Pages: 320
Rating: 2.8 out of 5

A haunting account of a teen boy who volunteers at a suicide hotline and falls for a troubled caller.Billy is a sophomore in high school, and twice a week, he volunteers at Listeners, a suicide hotline.
     Jenney is an “incoming,” a caller, a girl on the brink.
     As her life spirals out of control, Jenney’s calls become more desperate, more frequent. Billy, struggling with the deteriorating relationship with his depressed father, is the only one who understands. Through her pain, he sees hope. Through her tears, he feels her heart. And through her despair, he finds love. But is that enough?
     Acclaimed author Janet Ruth Young has written a stunning and powerful story with no easy answers; it is about pain and heartbreak, reality and illusion, and finding redemption and the strength to forgive in the darkest of times.

The main problem I had with this novel is that I just couldn't feel anything. I tried. I truly did but there was just something missing. Maybe it was the writing itself. I don't know.

Billy is a sophomore in highschool and he is having some problems with school after his father had a hard year. He was battling depression. Billy couldn't bring friends home because of his dad and he also couldn't confide with his best friend even though his mother died,so he is not totaly clueless when it comes to dealing with pain.

But now that his father is busy and happy (or is he?) with painting which he loved doing before Billy and his sister came in the picture. But B(let's shorten his already short name)is still worried he will be end up disappointed and will return to his old problems so he questions everything the poor man does. After his parents tell him he needs to find a hobby he decides to join Listeners- a support hotline for potential suiciders. There he spends time talking to Jenney who is just now dealing with repressed memories of her parents abusing her when she was a small child.

My Beautiful Failure could have been so much better. I just can't explain it. There were some things that usually work like a charm with me, like. a lot of B's inner thoughts, dark and difficult subjects but in the end it just didn't quite leave an impression.

Also the book was rather slow until the last 20% which didn't increase the chance of me liking it very much. I could say a few things that bothered me about the ending but I don't want to spoil the novel.

Overall, I would be so much happier if we got to see more sides of other characters and more of those calls from crazy people. That part was interesting.

2.8 out of 5