Karen's Book Light: Art & Soul by Brittainy C. Cherry

Art & Soul by Brittainy C. Cherry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads Summary:

I had always been the invisible art student in high school. Passed by. Glossed over. Unnoticed.
Now I was Aria Watson… that girl.

After one bad decision, and being labeled a slut, I was no longer unseen. I was the whore. The ignoramus. The tramp.
I would never be invisible again.

Particularly to Levi Myers. He was the odd boy with the beautiful soul who accepted and understood the broken girl inside me.

Falling in love wasn’t the plan. But how could I resist his promises of hope? Of forgiveness? Of a future I had stopped dreaming of?
We were shattered. We were scarred. We were something strange and beautiful.
We were two lost souls holding on to the only thing that could keep us together.

Art – noun | [\ˈärt\] : The quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.

"I think you're art".

When I first saw this on Audible, I jumped on it mainly because the cover is so beautiful and the preview of book touched me. I had never read anything from this author, so I thought I would give it a shot. When I realized this was about teen pregnancy, I wasn't so sure I wanted to read on something so touchy and figured there could be some explicit sex scenes. But kept on listening, I did! Soon I was swept away by Aria's and Levi's stories. It was written with alternating POV between the two of them... which I LOVE! I love it even more in audio format.

One thing I noticed and enjoyed was the writing. The words had a comforting flow that I found easy to get wrapped up in, to get lost in the world she created. Even though her writing was simple, it was beautifully put together.

"We grew tired together, creating our own kind of art. We became the masterpieces of the loneliest souls. The colors in both of our eyes bled out, knowing that sometimes the most beautiful pieces of art were created from the darkest of souls."

So many emotions were brought to the surface as Aria and Levi both had to face so many difficult decisions and situations brought on by bad judgement or just from what life brings. My heart broke, I laughed out loud, I wanted to scream with frustration and then cry my eyes out from it all.

“Maybe it wasn’t about fixing the broken hearts.
Maybe it was about loving the broken pieces the way they were.

Maybe when someone you loved was hurting, all they needed was someone to hold their pinkie as a reminder that they weren’t alone.”

My favorite thing about this book was the real life issues Cherry addressed. There were so many valuable lessons to be learned... from being accountable for your actions, the seriousness of having sex, sacrificing or love or selflessness, to respecting others and their decisions. Also she touched on mental illnesses, death, life, bullying, childhood cancer, and birth. I was impressed with the way the characters grew throughout the story and was impressed with the way these difficult situations were finally handled.