It took me about a day and a half to read all 342 pages, and I came away from the experience with an overall pleasant feeling of hope and comfort. Still I would not say that this book is one that you simply "cannot-put-down", though I thoroughly admit to picking it back up again when I got the chance.
Not to give away anything that isn't said on the back of this book, Willow is a 17 year old girl that survived a car accident that slaughtered her parents (she was the one driving), and came away with what would seem to be a bad case of PTSD. To deal with it all, she becomes a cutter, and this story highlights her journey out of the dark recessed of guilt and pain and her gradual recovery from chapters one to sixteen. I should warn you, some of the scenes in the book are graphic. And while she does not recover completely in the course of the story, but she does make significant progress, and it is a quite heartening read. (If you don’t know what a cutter is you can get more information at this Wikipedia entry on self-injury)
As a story that is aimed directly at the teen market, it must be said that it is very well written, and overall a very (and I don't say this lightly) good book. It is a character driven story and all of the characterization done is realistic. The characters, from Willow herself to even the most minor of characters is round, and the changes that happen to the dynamic characters are realistic.
There is a love story within the pages, but I would not say that it is the main focus of the book. It speaks to cutting, pain, family bonds, teenager hood. It is an emotional story of loss and pain and growth and healing.
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