Rest Easy

by Warona Jolomba

Words have the power to heal

"We're not friends. We're just volunteer partners.
Once our shift is over, we don't know each other."

"I hate you sometimes."

"What about the rest of the time?"
" . . . the opposite, I guess."

Heartsick from the death of his mother and heartsore from breaking up with his girlfriend, Dee Warrington is barely getting by.

Eccentric with mad style, Naya’s had straight As since the seventh grade, and when she makes a pinky promise, she means it.

Both find themselves at Salvation Hill Nursing Home, volunteering during their summer break. There they meet Marie Delden—a former aspiring poet with a mysterious backstory. As Dee and Naya read through Marie’s poems, they begin to unravel Marie’s past . . . and discover their own future.

Inspired by a true story, Warona Jolomba shares a tale of love and loss, and a bond that forms in the unlikeliest of places.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Contemporary, Young Adult Contemporary

336 pages, Paperback

First published October 26, 2021

Reviews

[Alex Nonymous · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Rest Easy in exchange for an honest review.

While I like a lot of what Rest Easy tries to do, it's a very character heavy story driven mostly be character conversation that to me at least, always read as a weird in-between of hyperrealist yet unbelievable teenager speak that kept taking me out of what should have been some really strong themes. In theory, I like the plot and character arcs here, but since everything important happened in dialogue and I was consistently put off by the dialogue I didn't love this as much as I could have.

[Marieke (mariekes_mesmerizing_books) · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading two excellent YA books I adored, I found it difficult to connect to this story and struggled to finish it. I believe it’s the writing that bothered me most.

The stories I read before this one were both perfect in showing, active, first-person, and present tense writing. In my opinion, the writing in Rest Easy is less showing and a lot telling. There were so many words and things that could have written better, too much use of words like wondered, thought, realized, hoped, etc. This also applies to phrases like later that evening, the following day, later on, later that afternoon (I can go on for a while). When Dee and Naya kiss for the first time, it’s told instead of showed ... I wanted to feel that moment! Not just thinking: what just happened? Oh, they kissed. Just out of the blue, just one sentence about them kissing!

I tried to like the book. I liked the premise. Rest Easy deals with a lot of heavy stuff and I mean really a lot! The death of a parent, a parent in jail, (alcohol) abuse, rape, anorexia, teenage pregnancy, suicide, and more. It’s almost too much. The characters are diverse: Dee is half Indigenous and half white, Naya is a Black bi/pan albino girl. This could have been a really good book, and I liked some parts. I loved Dylan’s letter. But sadly, most of the time, I just felt irritated while reading the story and found it way too distant.

I hate that I’m the first rating this book and that my rating is only two stars. Like I said, this could have been a good book. Maybe it can be edited again because of the telling and not showing? It’ll help to make it easier to read and less distant. Skip all those later that day’s etc. Make that kissing scene showing instead of telling. Maybe even skip the story of Marie (I don’t understand what this plot line adds to the story). Anyway, I hope other reviewers will like this book more than I did.

I received an ARC from Wattpad Books and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

[Molly Looby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was nothing short of beautiful. The characters were all so complicated and flawed, but I was rooting for all of them. There was just so much beauty and soul in this book, I'm not sure how else to put it! It was dialogue-heavy and character-focused, and these types of books are always my favourite.

Congrats, Warona! Can't wait to read what you write next!

[Patrick Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is 👏 a must read story. I don't alway finish reading a novel i must admit, but REAST EASY has certainly been an exceptional. I connected so well with this story at times I felt like I am part of book. Well written, well though of and definitely tantalising read. It's deserves all the stars 🌟.. A sequel will done this book a real deal.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I initially found the storyline challenging to get into, but once I figured out all of the characters (there are a lot) and how their stories fit together I was deeply invested. I thought the focus of the book would be on the woman in the nursing home but the characters’ own backstories seemed to take over. I was slightly disappointed not to have resolution about Marie but I appreciated the growth of the other characters. The author tackled heavy situations from a variety of perspectives and didn’t shy away from portraying realistic emotions. I thought this was a great YA read. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced e-reader copy. #NetGalley

[Diana Flores]

Gave up on this YA novel because at 20% in, it still wasn't going anywhere and I didn't want to continue with the "Guys" graphic conversations about sex. Not a novel I'd recommend to young women.

Some inconsistencies bothered me -
The first chapter, the husband says they will put the put the baby to bed and watch a film. In 1972, was this an option?
Also, the toddler would most likely be on mom's lap in the car in 1972- not by herself in the back seat.
Finally, as a long time resident of Arizona (35+ years), where is this fancy town between Phoenix and Tucson where everyone is obsessed with labels, but also has a strong indigenous population? I get that's is fictional, but there's not much between Phoenix and Tuscon to support that wealth.

Edited to add: I read the prologue to my mom, who would have been in the same position as Violet in 1972- a young mother. She noted:
*she unbuckled her seat belt - but she likely didn't have a seat belt in 1972
*she wouldn't be buying diapers for the baby at supermarket
*not sure wine was sold in supermarkets at that time

[Hilary Redman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book for the mystery the short description described to me: finding the backstory to this woman who shows up at a nursing home with no family and heavy onset dementia (think about THE SUMMER OF LOST LETTERS by Hannah Reynolds).Instead I got a tale about two kids who resemble "Eleanor and Park" by Rainbow Rowell. The first 50 or so pages were not great character back stories and the explanation of the friends group was convoluted and not really necessary. It really didnt get into what I assumed would be the main part of the story until like page 100, and even then it only slightly touched on what I thought the plot would be based on the summary on the back of the book. It has a lot of cuss words and lots of sexual innuendoes. I wish this story had more Marie and less Naya and Dee. Once I let go of what I thought the plot would be based on the summary on the back of the book, it was a perfectly fine read, maybe a little slow and detail heavy at times. If you liked Eleanor and Park and keep that storyline style in mind you will like this book. If you are looking for a read a like to The Summer of Lost Letters then this book is not for you.

[BookKru · Rating 2 out of 5]

ᴛᴡ: ᴀʙᴜꜱᴇ, ʀᴀᴘᴇ, ᴅᴏᴍᴇꜱᴛɪᴄ ᴠɪᴏʟᴇɴᴄᴇ, ᴀʟᴄᴏʜᴏʟɪꜱᴍ, ꜱᴜɪᴄɪᴅᴇ, ᴇᴀᴛɪɴɢ ᴅɪꜱᴏʀᴅᴇʀ, ᴛᴇᴇɴ ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴏꜰ ᴘᴀʀᴇɴᴛ.

Thank you Netgalley and Wattpad for this eARC.

This is going to be a pretty short review since I don't have a lot to say about. I liked the premise of the story but it didn't quite work out for me as I was on the verge of DNFing it. While it was a character heavy/character driven story, I found it hard to connect with the characters and their actions. There was a lot going on but none felt well-developed or captivating enough. The dialogues felt overly juvenile. The writing 'told' more than it 'showed' and that's what frustrated me the most. It didn't feel like I was experiencing a story. In the end, it just didn't work for me.

[John Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

The language is somewhat raw in terms of f bombs, but they fit this story of two teens trapped by parental ghosts and expectations. Dee is the product of a violent father and a recently deceased mother who abandoned her Native American heritage. Couple these with a self-destructive half brother and a secret he doesn't realize how much it shames him, and he's a mess. Naya is an only child whose parents are overly religious and protective. When they move to the town where Dee lives and the two teens end up volunteering the summer between their junior and senior years of high school, it's at first a prickly relationship, then one that's bumpy, but unexpectedly good for both of them. Overall, a very enjoyable read with some great insights into the convolutions of human behavior.

[Adriana Racu · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not like this book and to be honest I am not even sure why. I just know that I had a hard time connecting with the characters and the story so I spent most of the time bored and I just wanted it to be over.
I am sad that I felt this way because this book is based on a true story so I really wanted to feel something but sadly it wasn’t the case.
Either way, don’t fully trust my review because I have seen some amazing and positive reviews of people that loved and enjoyed this book so you may be one of those people if you give it a try.
.
Thanks to Wattpad books for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Krista Norman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just over 300 pages.

I only give this 4 stars because I didn't like the constant high school sex, drinking, and smoking. It is integral to the story, though. I'm glad I read it. I don't want to read another right now.

Jolomba's style is easy to read. I don't remember tripping up on a sentence even once.

I appreciated the theme of dealing with trauma and how relationships heal trauma. I appreciated that the key characters are minorities.

[K Anonymous · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great and worthwhile read. Highly recommend reading this book if you want to explore the Indigneous experience in the USA.

[Hana]

I think this book wasn’t meant for me- but it’s so important that it exists for the people it is meant for.

[Ramona Porter · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a YA reader and looking for a story with depth I recommend this one. It covers unlikely bonds and friendships but also grief and some heavy topics.

I found that I related to the main characters and frequently thought back to my teenage years and some of my own struggles.

It was well written and the dialogue is very character driven.

I got hooked by the back story about Marie, the woman Dee and Naya meet while volunteering at the Salvation Hill Nursing Home. I do wish that I got more of a conclusion regarding this piece.

This was inspired by a true story and I was impressed by the level of research the author talked about doing for this book.

Thanks to Wattpad Books for a copy of this book.

[Avery · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was something I wasn’t sure I was going to like. When you read the back of the book it talks about being more of a mystery style book. When I read it I was surprised to see more romance! I loved this book there were times I had a lot of trouble putting it down. This book follows two characters. The main character Dee who just lost his mother and broke up with his girlfriend. The second main character Naya who just moved because of some problems with her old life. They end of working together at this nursing home over the summer and meet this old lady who was a poet was a very mysterious back story. I loved this book and the plot of two people who have never becoming really good friends! The only thing I didn’t like was the ending. Near the end of the book a problem appears that was kind of hard to solve so close to the end. It felt like the writer was out of ideas and just added something completely different. But i did like the way it ended it made me feel happy and sad all at the same time. This book does cover some heaver topics just be aware but it just makes the book all the better and way more meaningful. I really recommend this book even if I say some bad things about it but nothing’s perfect and with some of the perspectives in this book it made me look at life a little differently and I loved that!