I picked up this book for the "Why Have I Not Read These Books' challenge. I have had this book since summer I want to say and it just sat there on my shelves. I enjoyed the book so I am glad that I finally decided to pick this one up and read it. This is a first time Author for me as well and I will be looking for more from her.
In this story we have Willow who is the main character. At the age of 16 she was in a car accident that killed her parents. The worst thing about it is the fact that she was the one who was driving. Her parents had a bit too much to drink and they had Willow drive them home with only a learner's permit. Now at the age of 17 she has been dealing with the guilt and pain of killing her own parents and just trying to come to terms with all of it. She soon finds herself in trouble because to soothe the emotional pain, she becomes a cutter. Enter Guy, who soon discovers Willow's problem and he begins to open up Willow's eyes and her heart.
I knew that the premise of this book would be somewhat depressing, dark, and sad, but I still wanted to read it. I like stories that touch on real life issues because usually the stories are more believable and realistic. This book does have some pretty serious triggers for those who have experienced these types of issues with cutting, so that should be considered before reading this. I took this book slowly and absorbed every detail of the story. I was confronted by all kinds of emotions and I took away from it many thoughts. The desperation of a person who needs to feel pain to be able to deal with emotional traumas is serious and this book brings that out and I think, gives the readers a better understanding as to why. And we as human beings must stop judging people who have issues such as this because we do NOT know what they may be going through or dealing with.
The characters were very well developed and very believable. I had one issue with Willow and that was the fact that she tended to think the worst before truly knowing someone's thoughts, and at first I did not think that I would be able to connect with her or any of the others, but I found that the further I read the more I connected. With Willow, I found I was able to relate to the thoughts of being parentless and that feeling of abandonment. It does not matter the age, the feelings are the same, it is maturity that determines the actions that result. Being parentless means no more asking mom or dad for advice, it means no more being the child of someone, and even though these thoughts might not mean the same thing to someone who has not lost there parents, it is still a very real feeling. With David, it was the feelings of responsibility as he had to take on Willow who was only 17 and how this impacted his life. And to hear is explanations to Willow near the end of the story was heart wrenching. It gave the story a different meaning after that. Is gives the message that everyone feels things differently and we don't know what those feelings are and before we judge someone and their issues, we need to realize those things first.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes realistic, emotional stories. It has both negative and positive elements and it is too heart wrenching to pass up.
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