The plot of Far From You is deeply complex, tackling many hard-hitting topics simultaneously – and when I say many, I mean many. The protagonist, Sophie, is a disabled, bisexual, recovering drug addict whose friend has just been murdered in a shooting. You could say the subject is emotionally challenging, but that would be an understatement.
The thing is, the plot is genius, and intrigued me instantly. Sophie, battling her own issues, is sent back to rehab by devastated parents when drugs are planted on her at the murder scene of her best friend Mina, who died in Sophie’s arms. Heartbroken and overwhelmed by Mina’s death, as soon as Sophie returns to her home-town, she is determined to find out what happened to Mina, and who framed her. So you can see, the storyline, at a first glance, appears intense and thrilling – just the recipe for becoming addicted to a book.
Unfortunately, for me at least, there were a few barriers in the way of being totally hooked by this book. One was the simplistic and unchallenging writing style. Although the thoughts of the narrator Sophie were precise and honest, the minimalistic and simple prose, in my opinion, prevented the text from echoing the beautifully complex and challenging nature of the plot.
Another downfall to Far From You was the character development. Many of the main characters had no backstories, and their personalities were very difficult to decipher. I almost felt like they were simply there as afterthoughts. Even Sophie herself was hard to form a bond with, since most of the time I felt like all I knew about her was her drug addiction and love for Mina. She seemed to have no other characteristics.
Overall, I did enjoy Far From You, and although the writing wasn’t the best at all, the plot was interesting and complex. Despite the fact that I won’t be going out of my way to read any of Tess Sharpe’s future books, I would recommend this one, simply for the fact that it tackles many topics which need more awareness.
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