Willow

Reader reviewed by Sara

SEVEN MONTHS AGO on a rainy, March night, Willows parents drank too much at dinner and asked her to drive them home. But they never made it Willow lost control of the car, and both of her parents were killed.
Now seventeen, Willow is living with her older brother, who can barely speak to her. She has let behind her old home, friends, and school. But Willow has found a way to survive, to numb the new reality of her life: She is secretly cutting herself.
And then she meets Guy, a boy as sensitive and complicated as she is. When Guy discovers Willows secret, he pulls her out of the solitary world shes created for herself, and into a difficult, intense, and potentially life-changing relationship.

Favorite characters, quotes/lines: Willow; Guy: He really cared about her& and he was real he didnt stay happy when Willow was being an idiot like some authors make characters do

When I finished this book I felt: It was a really good story, but Im not sure I like how Hoban wrote the book. I think I might have liked it better in first person rather than third; I found it kind of distracting. Other than that, I really enjoyed this book.

Other books to read by this author: this is the authors first book

I would recommend this book to: teen readers& but they should keep in mind that a main theme of the book is cutting& and for people like me (who have weak stomachs) parts of the story might be a bit difficult to read. But there arent very many parts like this in the book.

Reader reviewed by Library Lounge Lizard

even 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.