Willowby Julia Hoban
Seven months ago on a rainy March night, Willow's parents drank too much wine at dinner and asked her to drive them home. But they never made it-Willow lost control of the car, and both her parents were killed.
After the accident Willow leaves behind what she refers to as her "old life" and moves in with her older brother who is a newly married, young college professor with a new baby. From the beginning Willow feels like a burden and a constant reminder of her brothers loss due to the accident she believes was her fault.
Willow has not been able to cry since waking up from the accident and her only release from her pent up emotional pain is to slice into her arms and legs. "You couldn't really say that something that hurts so badly feels good exactly. It's more that it just feels right. And something that feels so right just couldn't be bad. It has to be good."
Willow is also working at the college library while attending the local high school in order to help her brother out with finances. This is where she meets Guy, the first person to discover her clandestine activities. He is devastated by what she is doing to herself and vows to be there if she ever needs him. What follows is a blossoming romance that Willow is not prepared to deal with. This relationship along with the guilt she feels about her brother is the heart of this story.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. I connected with Willow in more of a motherly sense, my heart was breaking for her! She is definitely a character you will care about. Hoban's descriptive writing in regards to Willow's cutting moments is so vivid I literally started to feel queasy and had to skip ahead! I'll admit that I have a pretty weak stomach and at times it felt like I was sitting right there with her.
I encourage parents and schools to purchase this book because there are so many fallacies out there regarding why kids self-mutilate. Hoban does a great job of showing the pain and horror behind the actual circumstances.
Score: 4 points
3 comments:
Yes, I found this very touching and not at all exploitative. Glad you liked it!
It's super high on my to-read list. Can't wait to get to it.
I have a cutting book, Crossing the Line by Di Bates, in my tbr pile and I admit I've been putting it off because I'm not sure I can relate to self-mutilation. But your review has made me bring it near the top again, and give it a go.
I saw your comment at Persnicketty Snark and came to visit the link whore! Isn't etiquette amazing? I have a kind of commenting on my blog (sorry, can't give you the url or the blog police will get me!), and it is great because it shows the commenters last post, thus sharing the link love.
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