Binding 13 by Chloe Wash
Reviewed by Mia L.
Binding Thirteen is a YA/New Adult novel based in Ireland following the lives of both Shannon Lynch and Johnny Kavanaugh. Shannon, who has just transferred to the prestigious Tommen Academy to escape the torments of bullies at her old school, has a run-in with the school’s rugby star, Johnny Kavanaugh. From the moment they meet, they feel drawn to each other in a way neither of them can explain. Shannon, who once dreaded going to school, finds herself looking forward to it. Johnny Kavanaugh, who was once focused on his career as a professional rugby player after graduating, starts to question his main priority. Without even realizing it, the two of them begin to break down each other’s walls, forming the kind of relationship that only happens once in a lifetime. Shannon’s walls had been put up in attempt to shield herself from the cruel world she’d been exposed to at a young age, while Johnny’s involve not allowing something, or someone, to get in the way of his path to stardom.
In a tale of secrets, catastrophe, and most importantly, love, Shannon attempts to escape her past, while Johnny grapples with his future after an injury that could change his life for the worse. They both have their own struggles, but are able to find solace in the one place they’d spent time trying to escape. Each other. Their story reminds us that just one word, one moment, or one person can end up changing someone’s life for the better. This book tells the story from two perspectives, bringing the lives of two very different people with opposite upbringings together and allowing them to become one with each other. Shannon, living in a poor household with four brothers,–three of them younger– and Johnny, raised rich and secure, but living up to immense expectations, begin to see that the way they were raised isn’t all the world has to offer. Sometimes being sheltered allows for one to really reflect on whether or not they should take the life they live for granted.
If you are interested in being transported into a world where each and every character is explored in a complex and emotional way, then this book is for you. The character-building and format of the book really helped allow me to visualize how characters were feeling at certain points in time. While the length of the book seems daunting at first, for me it felt like it flew by, and I was already wanting to read the other books in the series. One fair warning would be that if you are under 13 I would probably recommend you not read this book, as there is some spice and talk of some deep and possibly triggering topics, including domestic abuse, drug abuse, and alcoholism. While these are hard things to discuss, they are real problems that our world faces that I feel need to be addressed more, and are really put into perspective in this book.
A few examples of some movies/shows very similar to this book are One Tree Hill, more closely related to the found family aspect of the book, and the show Normal People (also a book), which is another romance based in Ireland where the main character plays rugby. In my opinion, I would definitely rate this book excellent as, despite its length, it kept me entertained throughout reading it. While reading, I felt as if I was transported to another world and grew so connected to the characters that I actually cried at the ending. If you like meaningful romance and want to feel something as you read, this book is for you.