My World of Glass

By: Mandy Tremelling

Narrated by: Sabrina Pellerito

Dessa Lakewood was an ordinary girl, until she wasn't. Within a few short moments she was an orphan, an only survivor in a family of four. The state took control of her life then and put her into the Workforce, a system for the criminally charged...and the lost.

Dessa is forced to work and live alongside convicted criminals and be put in the hands of many caretakers, though not all of them as caring as one might think. As any young woman would in such a situation, she gives up, and the rebound sends her on a journey she did not foresee. This story of a girl finding herself is suspenseful and full of plot twists as her world of glass shatters around her.

©2018 Mandy Tremelling (P)2023 Mandy Tremelling

A Ride of Drama, Trauma, and Sprinkles of Joy.

While I will mention characteristics or setting in the book, I will avoid any details that would be spoilers to save people the upset of a ruined story that deserves to be read/listened to.
So I'll begin with the beginning. While I've read many books of disturbing nature, never has it opened with a trigger warning. Plenty of books have had harsher scenes or moments in them, but it made me truly appreciate this author that it was thought to announce it at the start for people unaware. That said, if mentions of rape/abuse are triggers for you, it sadly might be good to avoid this as that is a key point in the main characters backstory.
The first third of the book feels more teen drama or runaway story than anything else. While the pacing at times can feel off or in my case, have me confused on the time frame for a bit, it's still a fitting opening for what's to come. It gives you the time to develop opinions on characters and start to build your connection with Dessa and her struggles.
The back end of the book has plenty of moments to make you smile with satisfaction, want to weep for her hardships, and hate those presented as the villain for their actions. By the ending, you are clenching your teeth, hoping for them to suffer the consequences and wanting Dessa to get a happy ending, unsure of if it will come.
The only thing I have as a real negative for this book is something that isn't really plot related. The final chapter is the reading of Dessa's journal that is referenced throughout the book. It feels almost out of place having it there. I am not an author, editor, or have any experience in book making so my opinion might mean nothing, but I feel like it would have given more impact if an entry had been the start to each chapter instead of or along side the quotes that were placed in those spots. Allowing the reader to truly see the horrors of Dessa's experiences as the story went on.
While this isn't my usual go to style of book, I can say that I am extremely satisfied with it and and very happy to have listened to this. Good characters, good mix of the real struggles of living with trauma and the cringry actions/emotions of teens. World building was alright, though comments of "police bots" have me wishing I knew more of the world's tech or the environment. Overall a good read that when you start, you truly want to continue until the end. I look forward to seeing any other releases from this author.

A riveting and suspenseful mystery 

I like that it got down to the setting and the characters right away. The characters were relatable, and I didn’t have a hard time following the characters, the plot or the setting. I liked the mystery about it. It kept you guessing, until the very end! 

My only disappointment was that it ended

I’ll start by saying I never listen to single narration books; my adhd is horrible and I need the different voices. This is the first audio book with a single narrator that I have not only finished, but followed without confusion and LOVED!
Onto the book; I decided to go into this book completely blind since I was in a slump waiting for my new book to come in the mail. I was not disappointed! The story was something new and interesting, with great characters and character development. My only disappointment is that it wasn’t longer. I wasn’t ready for it to end and to say goodbye to these characters I’d grown fond of. I loved that the story wasn’t predictable and had me laser focused to know what was going to happen next.
I pretty much exclusively read dark romance and I did not expect to love this as much as I did. Thought it would be a good pallet cleanser type read but this will be added to my collection of regular rereads!!