Rock Bottom Rise by Natalie Blank | A Coming of Age Story When The World is Against You
Review of advanced copy received via the Author.
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Synopsis
Rock Bottom Rise follows Link as he returns home after two years at boarding school and finds that his family, his future, and the life he knew have all shifted without him.
With no clear college plan, no real support system and nowhere stable to go, Link ends up living in his car while working as much as he can to afford College.. He is isolated and exhausted all whilst trying to constantly keep himself moving, even when every attempt to get ahead seems to fall apart.
At the same time Amy, his ex-girlfriend and the person who once understood him the most, is close to moving on. Link realises he still loves her, but getting back to her means facing the past he has been avoiding and dealing with the damage left by his family.
Main Characters Info and Summary
Link
The story is centred around Links POV and it is his story we follow.
He is dealing with family estrangement, financial stress, homelessness and an uncertain future.
His main goals are to get away from his family and reunited with his ex-girlfriend, Amy.
Amy
Link’s ex-girlfriend.
She is the person who once understood him better than most people.
She hates him for how things ended between them.
Link’s Parents
They are central to the emotional frustration of the book.
Their treatment of Link and the atmosphere they create, add to the emotional strain throughout the book.
Review
I haven’t read too many coming of age stories, but if they are all as good as this one, then I’ll definitely be reading more!
We follow Link, a teenager with a troubled past who has just returned home from boarding school, where he was sent by his oblivious father and his way too highly strung, eccentric stepmum.
He longs for his freedom and wants to reconcile with his ex-girlfriend, Amy. However, no matter how hard he tries, absolutely nothing seems to go his way. It really feels like every time he takes a step forward, the universe decides “Nope” and throws another obstacle in his way.
When it seems like things can’t get any worse, Link is made homeless after being thrown out by his dad following a heated argument with his stepmum over something that wasn’t even his fault.
He finds himself homeless, with very little support from anyone. His friends are all moving on with their lives, Amy wants nothing to do with him, and his family has just kicked him out, all while he is working all the hours he can and juggling college full time.
This is a short story, around 320 pages, which is great because I don’t think I could have taken any more emotional turmoil. As the story progresses, we see Link struggle to survive while righting his wrongs, facing his troubled past, and trying to win back the person he loved the most.
We get to see his point of view from when he was a kid, including how and why he started living with his dad and stepmum, and of course, how he met Amy. We follow him through those years and throughout boarding school, seeing the few ups and many downs, all while learning how he became the person he is.
This was a very well written and well paced story. You really feel for Link. He doesn’t always handle things well, and he makes some pretty poor choices. However, you still long for the tide to turn in his favour. The heavy themes are handled well, and you never feel trapped in any one dark moment for too long.
I do wish we had seen more of Amy and learned more about her character. The story also wrapped up a little too quickly and took a turn that I didn’t see coming. I doubt anyone will!
Overall, this was a great quick
Who I’d Recommend This Book To
I’d recommend this to readers who like:
YA coming of age.
Family estrangement and survival
Second chance romance
Heavy themes
Verdict
I really enjoyed this! It’s well written and paced very well. Link’s situation is painful to read about. He is trying so hard to survive with very little support from anyone. Seeing him fight through everything and righting his wrongs made me actually feel like a lazy garage human! I should be trying harder in my own life!
This is not just a YA romance. The romance with Amy is there, but the bigger part of the story is Link dealing with family estrangement, homelessness, academic stain and the damage caused by the people who should have protected him. His parents made me so angry! As someone who actually has supportive and loving parents, I couldn’t imagine how I would feel or cope if they treated me the way Links did.
This book has heavy themes, so this is something to consider before going in. However if you do read this, you will not be disappointed. Link may make some questionable choices, but you will be rooting for him all them way!
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
You can by this book on Kindle at Amazon (Affiliate Link): https://amzn.to/4nlfZId
Expected release date: 15th May 2026
