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In the Rearview
When Meagan’s secret is found out, and she realizes there is no way to outrun her habit of cutting, she tries to work through it, and her depression, before she cuts too deep, making a mistake that can never be undone.
Meagan's problems aren't like every other adolescent's no matter how much she wishes they could be. Hers are worse. They've pulled her down into the depths of a depression that is anything but normal. She begins her pattern of self-harm as her depression threatens to drown her. She starts with one cut that leads to the next, and the next. After starting, it's apparent that there's no stopping, and Meagan spirals into a dark and cruel world she doesn't understand. Meagan cuts to feel better, but that comfort doesn't last long enough, and soon life is worse than it ever was before.
While learning to quit cutting Meagan faces life-altering obstacles and grows up in the process. IN THE REARVIEW is a story of pain, loss, confusion, and hope told through Meagan’s poems, journal entries, and a splash of narrative.
Meagan's problems aren't like every other adolescent's no matter how much she wishes they could be. Hers are worse. They've pulled her down into the depths of a depression that is anything but normal. She begins her pattern of self-harm as her depression threatens to drown her. She starts with one cut that leads to the next, and the next. After starting, it's apparent that there's no stopping, and Meagan spirals into a dark and cruel world she doesn't understand. Meagan cuts to feel better, but that comfort doesn't last long enough, and soon life is worse than it ever was before.
While learning to quit cutting Meagan faces life-altering obstacles and grows up in the process. IN THE REARVIEW is a story of pain, loss, confusion, and hope told through Meagan’s poems, journal entries, and a splash of narrative.
- GenresYoung AdultContemporary
386 pages, ebook
First published August 17, 2014
3 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
About the author
Maria Ann Green
31 books187 followersMaria, an internationally bestselling indie author, lives in Minnesota despite the frozen winters. Actually, she prefers snow drifts and icicles over summer and all that sweat running everywhere. She lives with her husband and little family, which includes a couple lazy cats who make great lap warmers. You can usually find her whishing that she lived in a secret cabin in the woods where she could be a hermit reading and writing all of the time. Instead she lives the suburban life where she pretends to her neighbors and the other moms around that she doesn’t swear like a sailor, have hidden tattoos, and loves a good bottle of wine. She absolutely believes in unicorns and ghosts and hopes vampires and monsters are real too. She's a coffee-in-the-morning and wine-in-the-evening kind of person, preferably with a nap in between. Maria prefers cats over dogs, books over people, and late nights over early mornings. She probably shouldn’t talk to anyone until she’s had her first cup of coffee. And if you ever want to hang out with her, you’ll have to be game for a horror movie or just a quick run to target for two (hundred) little things. Also, you couldn’t pay her to be in her twenties again; Thirties is where it’s at. She's a creative, mouthy, introverted, proud bisexual, highly-sensitive INFJ, Slytherpuff, dork with a sweet-tooth.
Maria devours books, reading mostly in bed or listening to audiobooks in the car. Writing has been one of her passions for pretty much her whole life. So creativity is a necessity for her, always. After working in the mental health field for almost a decade, she's now living her dream as a stay-at-home writer, kiddo wrangler, professional snuggler, and constantly-tired-person. When it comes to her writing, she specializes in dark and twisted thrillers or gritty, angsty contemporary romances. But no matter the genre, she always prefers writing deeply flawed characters with dysfunctional relationships. She's pretty sure the whole "unlikable character" thing is a conspiracy because every character she loves have been labeled this way. Ridiculous. And because of this, she's pretty much found it impossible to write anything without at least a little mayhem.
Maria was once told she painted with her words, and that phrase stuck with her - because writing really is an art, and good stories are true masterpieces. She's always trying to grow and improve in her craft, shooting for a masterpiece of her own someday. And she plans to write forever because writing gives Maria the ability to disappear into new worlds and create people within twisting plots, all from the comfort of her couch. She will always believe that though not every story is for her, and her stories aren't for everyone, every story has a reader.
For more from Maria find all of her links, including a link to get more content at her newsletter, here: linktr.ee/mariainmadness
Maria also loves connecting with readers and writers and she can be found at:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariainmadn...
Facebook: https://bit.ly/2U7dY4a
Twitter: https://twitter.com/missmariaann
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/1pOpUU3
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/maria...
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mariaannwri...
Member of Independent Author Network: https://www.independentauthornetwork....
Maria devours books, reading mostly in bed or listening to audiobooks in the car. Writing has been one of her passions for pretty much her whole life. So creativity is a necessity for her, always. After working in the mental health field for almost a decade, she's now living her dream as a stay-at-home writer, kiddo wrangler, professional snuggler, and constantly-tired-person. When it comes to her writing, she specializes in dark and twisted thrillers or gritty, angsty contemporary romances. But no matter the genre, she always prefers writing deeply flawed characters with dysfunctional relationships. She's pretty sure the whole "unlikable character" thing is a conspiracy because every character she loves have been labeled this way. Ridiculous. And because of this, she's pretty much found it impossible to write anything without at least a little mayhem.
Maria was once told she painted with her words, and that phrase stuck with her - because writing really is an art, and good stories are true masterpieces. She's always trying to grow and improve in her craft, shooting for a masterpiece of her own someday. And she plans to write forever because writing gives Maria the ability to disappear into new worlds and create people within twisting plots, all from the comfort of her couch. She will always believe that though not every story is for her, and her stories aren't for everyone, every story has a reader.
For more from Maria find all of her links, including a link to get more content at her newsletter, here: linktr.ee/mariainmadness
Maria also loves connecting with readers and writers and she can be found at:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariainmadn...
Facebook: https://bit.ly/2U7dY4a
Twitter: https://twitter.com/missmariaann
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/1pOpUU3
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/maria...
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mariaannwri...
Member of Independent Author Network: https://www.independentauthornetwork....
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 5, 2014
Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book to review by Maria Ann, and am so thankful!
I absolutely loved this book, it was so creative and interestingly written. There is journal entries and third person POV mixed in throughout the story. Usually, third person POV seems so stiff and hard to connect with the characters — but Maria Ann Green has a talent for third person POV. It had voice and it was easy to connect to Meagan and her journey.
Meagan struggles with doubt and depression, and finds her only source for relief through cutting. It was interesting to get into the mind of a character that thought this was a good idea — even though she kinda already knew it wasn't. The journey from deciding to cut, to cutting, to deciding not to cut was a painful one for Meagan, and the reader. She's a nice girl, who has flaws and brilliance both. I wouldn't say she made a mistake, this book isn't about judging the habit, but about trying to break free of it for Meagan.
Poor Meagan, when she finally does, her high school experience continues to have ups and downs. This is one of those interesting books that flows from MG, when Meagan is in middle school, to NA — when she is in college. Due to this, a lot of moments and sometime a whole year will be skimmed over. I kinda wish I could have known more about what happened then, but since the book is spanning such a large period of time I understand why the author wouldn't stop for these moments if nothing important to her journey was really happening. I kinda would've liked to see more of her relationships as well, because it's not until the last one that we really get to see what it's like for Meagan. Otherwise, it is in the journal entries that they are skimmed over. Again, though, since this isn't a romance book I understand that aspect.
Overall, I give this book my seal of approval. If you are looking for a dark issue book, this debut is for you.
OOOOOH! By the way: THERE IS POETRY! I love poetry, but I can't write it worth anything. I loved that aspect about the book. Meagan's journal entries were broken up by her poetry, and you learn so much about what she is feeling and what she has gone through/is going through with her poems. Some are short, some are long, but all are beautiful. There are so many gem lines and poems, I started to keep a list for my favorite quotes:
BEAUTIFUL QUOTES:
“I felt less vulnerable putting pen to paper than putting words through my lips.”
“This is the story of working through my problems, pending against them, and choosing to cope instead of giving up.”
“Sometimes I even worry I’ve become a robot or a type of pod person. Somehow, maybe while I was sleeping, someone came into my bedroom, cut out my heart, and replaced it with mechanical hardware. Or my whole soul has been taken out and replaced with an unhappy replica.”
“She can no longer see what is truly in front of her mirror like she used to. Her perception has morphed. It’s deformed. her self-perception is as dysfunctional as our cutting.”
“She hated to acknowledge the darker side of her curiosities, but even ignored, they gnawed at her conscious, begging to be free. This was her opportunity.”
“It starts with a tiny, dust sized, speck of an idea that floats by, sometimes triggered, sometimes without nay waning or reason. It moves around, just a nuisance, circling for a spot to land and infect. You can try to bat it away, but that means acknowledgment of the problem you want so bad just to pretend does’t exist.”
I absolutely loved this book, it was so creative and interestingly written. There is journal entries and third person POV mixed in throughout the story. Usually, third person POV seems so stiff and hard to connect with the characters — but Maria Ann Green has a talent for third person POV. It had voice and it was easy to connect to Meagan and her journey.
Meagan struggles with doubt and depression, and finds her only source for relief through cutting. It was interesting to get into the mind of a character that thought this was a good idea — even though she kinda already knew it wasn't. The journey from deciding to cut, to cutting, to deciding not to cut was a painful one for Meagan, and the reader. She's a nice girl, who has flaws and brilliance both. I wouldn't say she made a mistake, this book isn't about judging the habit, but about trying to break free of it for Meagan.
Poor Meagan, when she finally does, her high school experience continues to have ups and downs. This is one of those interesting books that flows from MG, when Meagan is in middle school, to NA — when she is in college. Due to this, a lot of moments and sometime a whole year will be skimmed over. I kinda wish I could have known more about what happened then, but since the book is spanning such a large period of time I understand why the author wouldn't stop for these moments if nothing important to her journey was really happening. I kinda would've liked to see more of her relationships as well, because it's not until the last one that we really get to see what it's like for Meagan. Otherwise, it is in the journal entries that they are skimmed over. Again, though, since this isn't a romance book I understand that aspect.
Overall, I give this book my seal of approval. If you are looking for a dark issue book, this debut is for you.
OOOOOH! By the way: THERE IS POETRY! I love poetry, but I can't write it worth anything. I loved that aspect about the book. Meagan's journal entries were broken up by her poetry, and you learn so much about what she is feeling and what she has gone through/is going through with her poems. Some are short, some are long, but all are beautiful. There are so many gem lines and poems, I started to keep a list for my favorite quotes:
BEAUTIFUL QUOTES:
“I felt less vulnerable putting pen to paper than putting words through my lips.”
“This is the story of working through my problems, pending against them, and choosing to cope instead of giving up.”
“Sometimes I even worry I’ve become a robot or a type of pod person. Somehow, maybe while I was sleeping, someone came into my bedroom, cut out my heart, and replaced it with mechanical hardware. Or my whole soul has been taken out and replaced with an unhappy replica.”
“She can no longer see what is truly in front of her mirror like she used to. Her perception has morphed. It’s deformed. her self-perception is as dysfunctional as our cutting.”
“She hated to acknowledge the darker side of her curiosities, but even ignored, they gnawed at her conscious, begging to be free. This was her opportunity.”
“It starts with a tiny, dust sized, speck of an idea that floats by, sometimes triggered, sometimes without nay waning or reason. It moves around, just a nuisance, circling for a spot to land and infect. You can try to bat it away, but that means acknowledgment of the problem you want so bad just to pretend does’t exist.”
August 6, 2014
I was lucky enough to read this in its early stages, as well as later. The way this story is written, grips your heart. Makes you feel and remember. It's brilliant and beautiful. Meagan (through Maira's writing) allows us to dive into a heavy topic, in a personal way. It makes you think, and understand.
August 26, 2014
The journal entries and even more, the poetry is amazing! It will break your heart. It will give you hope. You will love it. This beautifully written story is truly realistic.
I don't like cutting scenes. But there are not many gory ones in the story. It's more about the emotional turmoil and healing.
I don't like cutting scenes. But there are not many gory ones in the story. It's more about the emotional turmoil and healing.
August 5, 2014
I wrote this, so I think it's pretty awesome. It's my debut novel that took a lot of years to write and even more times reading through it to make it what it is today.
September 10, 2014
Powerful and moving! Highly recommended.
January 6, 2015
This book wasn't at all what I expected. We meet and follow the main character through journal entries as she shares her struggles and triumphs. Megan deals with depression and cutting, while some of her other friends struggle with other forms of self-harm. The author places us firmly in this young girl's shoes and the results are heart-wrenching. But there is hope, and this novel ends on a redemptive note.
I am a big fan of dialogue and interaction with other characters, and this novel didn't have a ton of that due to the journal format. The journal entries would morph into more "live-action" scenes where Megan interacted with her friends or her group, but I would have loved to see more of that.
I'm also not a big poetry fan, and this book contained a lot of Megan's poetry. It was pretty and I admire anyone who thinks in verse and can sprinkle it throughout a book as is seen in IN THE REARVIEW. Sometimes the poetry hinted at other drama in Megan's life, and I wondered if those events actually took place or if she really just liked to write. If the poems were based on events happening in her life, I would have liked to read more about them because they sounded exciting, or at least dramatic.
I enjoyed this and it was a relatively quick read for me. Looking forward to more from this author.
I am a big fan of dialogue and interaction with other characters, and this novel didn't have a ton of that due to the journal format. The journal entries would morph into more "live-action" scenes where Megan interacted with her friends or her group, but I would have loved to see more of that.
I'm also not a big poetry fan, and this book contained a lot of Megan's poetry. It was pretty and I admire anyone who thinks in verse and can sprinkle it throughout a book as is seen in IN THE REARVIEW. Sometimes the poetry hinted at other drama in Megan's life, and I wondered if those events actually took place or if she really just liked to write. If the poems were based on events happening in her life, I would have liked to read more about them because they sounded exciting, or at least dramatic.
I enjoyed this and it was a relatively quick read for me. Looking forward to more from this author.
December 28, 2014
The main character, 23-year old Meagan, is introduced to the reader through a series of diary entries and poems. She looks back on her life in her adolescent years, where it all began.
Meagan battles problems that no parent ever wishes their daughter to go through. She feels that they are much worse and not normal. To cope, Meagan begins a pattern of self inflicted harm as her depression threatens to drown her. She starts cutting.
That one cut turns into another, and another. Like an addict, Meagan feels the instant gratification, but then has conflicting thoughts: remorse and figuring out when to cut again.
While learning to quit cutting, Meagan faces life-altering obstacles and grows up in the process.
Debut author, Maria Ann Green's takes us on a young woman's journey on growing up and the consequences of life are spot on. Through the beautifully crafted poems and the unique diary-entry style of the novel, this book really puts the reader in the shoes of Meagan. As the reader, I could feel her pain. And at times, I understood and related to the situations that Meagan found her self in.
IN THE REARVIEW is a FANTASTIC read of pain, loss, and above all, hope!!!
Meagan battles problems that no parent ever wishes their daughter to go through. She feels that they are much worse and not normal. To cope, Meagan begins a pattern of self inflicted harm as her depression threatens to drown her. She starts cutting.
That one cut turns into another, and another. Like an addict, Meagan feels the instant gratification, but then has conflicting thoughts: remorse and figuring out when to cut again.
While learning to quit cutting, Meagan faces life-altering obstacles and grows up in the process.
Debut author, Maria Ann Green's takes us on a young woman's journey on growing up and the consequences of life are spot on. Through the beautifully crafted poems and the unique diary-entry style of the novel, this book really puts the reader in the shoes of Meagan. As the reader, I could feel her pain. And at times, I understood and related to the situations that Meagan found her self in.
IN THE REARVIEW is a FANTASTIC read of pain, loss, and above all, hope!!!
October 30, 2017
This is a great read! The main character's journey and development is powerfully realistic; I even caught myself gasping out loud more than once. I love the struggle that Maria Ann Green presents for her character. Ms. Green writes beautifully and has a knack for breaking her readers' hearts before giving them hope.
September 27, 2014
This is a dark contemporary, which isn't usually my thing, but I really liked it. The creative format of this story was very well done! The poetry flowed with the narration which flowed with the diary entries.
If you like darker/series subject matter...check this out. I don't think you'll be disappointed!
If you like darker/series subject matter...check this out. I don't think you'll be disappointed!
May 19, 2015
Great to read
Easy to read. Fell in the book and couldn't get out. I would love to purchase this instead of borrowing from the library.
Easy to read. Fell in the book and couldn't get out. I would love to purchase this instead of borrowing from the library.
July 2, 2015
Didn't finish this as I wasn't really that interested in it. It seemed more like it had been written as something for people that do cut themselves.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews