Have you ever read a book and just knew that no other story could compare? That is exactly how I felt when reading Binding 13 by Chloe Walsh. Before I go into depth about my opinions regarding this book, I’d like to address that this book can be triggering or upsetting for some crowds because it contains topics of abuse and addiction. This story is a dual point of view from Shannon Lynch and Johnny Kavangh that takes place in Ireland. There are many factors that contribute to my love for this book, but the major ones consist of character development and romance. The main plot of this book is the slow burn love story between Johnny and Shannon, and it’s one of the most captivating romance stories I’ve read.
Transferring to a new school named Tommen College, Shannon timidly prepares herself for her first day. With a history of being bullied by ruthless school girls, she is terrified her new school will present the same challenge. Since she was in diapers, Shannon was the main target for bullies in her school for no particular reason. Although she is tirelessly harassed in school, the biggest bully lies under the roof of her own home. Teddy Lynch: abusive, alcoholic husband, and father of six. Being the only girl in the Lynch house besides her mother, Shannon is deemed “another useless mouth to feed until she turns eighteen” by her father. She is a considerate, reserved, and tender-hearted girl who can’t seem to escape her fathers fists. Even with her older brother Joey there to protect her, his coping mechanism for their home life is drugs, so he can’t always be there. Shannon needs someone to stay for good; someone who can be there when Joey can’t, and that’s where Johnny comes in. The famous rugby star has never been affected by a girl until Shannon stumbled into his life. Raised in a loving home, Johnny is an only child who moved from Dublin to the current setting of the book, Cork. On the outside, he is the perfect athlete destined to be on his country’s rugby team. In reality, he is harboring an injury that might just ruin his entire career. These two are destined to be together, but will navigating their complicated lives get in the way of their relationship?
To start off, I’m going to be touching upon the romance in Binding 13. Johnny and Shannon’s love story is healing in the sense that they complete each other. Johnny pretty much saves Shannon from the nightmare that is her home. He is her rock, the person she can count on to always stay, no matter how ugly it gets. He shows her what it’s like to be loved, to be valued, to be the very thing his life revolves around. He is her savior disguised as a human, but Shannon is Johnny’s savior as well. She shows Johnny he is so much more than just rugby. He fears he won’t be good enough, that failure might be the inevitable conclusion to his career, but she acts as his reassurance that rugby does not determine his value, only he can. I’d like to mention one of my favorite quotes from the book that gives a glimpse of Johnny’s feelings for Shannon: “I wanted to fight all her battles. I wanted to give her all her smiles and make her laugh and snatch her away from the rest of the world and keep her all to myself. I just wanted her. For keeps”-Chloe Walsh, Binding 13. The progression of their relationship shows how important it is to feel loved as humans, because no one wants to feel unwanted. No one wants to be alone.
To wrap this up, I’d like to discuss Shannon’s character development throughout the book. She starts off as a helpless girl who hides away from almost everyone in her life and avoids confrontation like the plague. She accepts the simple fact that she will serve as her fathers punching bag until she is legally an adult, and is extremely hesitant to trust people, given her background. She is deprived of the privilege of a normal teenage life that she yearns for, but makes no move to change it. This is her perspective for the majority of the story until she is given a taste of what her life could be like, and everything changes from there. At the end of the story, Shannon is a girl who is pretty much unafraid to voice her opinions, stand up for herself, and is a lot more open to trusting those around her. She goes from a person who shrivels away at insults and punches, to someone who doesn’t let cruel words or actions define her. This aspect of the story is inspiring because it exemplifies that no one is truly broken. For a girl who wished her life away multiple times, she grew into a person who learned to enjoy her life. It’s evident that people can be damaged, but hope is never fully lost until they give up. Pain and grief have the ability to drown you, but you have the ability to swim out.
