Publisher: Flux
Release Date: March 8, 2011
Format: Hardcover
Source: Library
Age Level: Young Adult, 16+
Buy: Amazon | Indiebound
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I read this while traveling, and I barely noticed that one of my flights was delayed 2 hours. It was so, so good. The characters are flawed and realistic, the romance between Chelsea and Clint is… HOT.
I’m actually surprised at how much I loved Playing Hurt considering that the protagonist Chelsea cheats on her boyfriend Gabe. Her family goes to a lake resort for 3 weeks and she is able to convince herself that having a fling with her “trainer” Clint while stringing along her boyfriend is fine. I wanted to slap her more than once. I do not condone cheating, but yet I found myself sympathizing with her. One of my favorite characters was her brother Brandon because he called her out on all her BS. I wanted to give him a high five… or fist bump…. something!
Chelsea and Clint are both broken. Chelsea is physically and emotionally broken after getting injured and having to say goodbye to her dream of playing basketball. She’s a mess, trying to figure out what to do with herself. Clint has never quite recovered from his past, and even though he’s supposed to be helping Chelsea get stronger, they end up helping each other heal. Schindler described the emotions of the characters so beautifully and perfectly. She made me cry. In public. And I might have a bit of a crush on Clint :).
The great writing and pacing made it difficult to put this book down. It’s all you could want in a summer read! I’m really looking forward to reading Schindler’s first novel, A Blue So Dark.