Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany)'s Reviews > Never Look Back

Actual Rating: 2.5 but rounding up because the writing itself is beautiful.

Never Look Back is a contemporary YA retelling of the Greek myth Orpheus and Eurydice, which is a cool idea, but this kind of feels like two different books and the cover really doesn't give a sense of what this book is like (aside from the fact that it centers Afro-Latinx characters). You can almost split this book in two and while I like both halves, they didn't work for me as a cohesive whole. This might be a case of the author trying to do too many things for one narrative instead of picking one.

Part 1 has light magical realism with retelling elements that mostly seem to be used as a metaphor for things like dealing with trauma, identity, and mental health. Part 2 goes full-on portal fantasy to the underworld with a very on the nose approach to the retelling and lots of creepy/horror elements. So....I'm not sure what happened with the cover because not at all what I was expecting? Like I said, I would have liked either of those books, but smashed together it was strange.

Eury is visiting family in the Bronx while dealing with PTSD from a hurricane in Puerto Rico and haunting from a possessive spirit. Pheus is a musician who has his pick of girls, but there is something different about the quiet and withdrawn Eury. Things go from there and this touches on everything from childhood trauma and PTSD to abusive relationships and mental illness. It's an ambitious book with a cool premise and a lot of great elements, but again, it just didn't quite come together the way I hoped it would. I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Content warnings include attempted sexual assault, psychological and emotional abuse, PTSD, anxiety, teen drug and alcohol use.