Reviewer: Terry
This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
Often when I read a book, I read the notes the author adds to the beginning of the book…this author added a note to the front a book about a conversation with his daughter that caught my attention. He was asked to summarize the book in 15 words; he described this book as what seemed like a simple love story. I have to disagree, there is so much more to this story then to label it as that. There’s love there, but it’s jaded and heartbreaking, as well as eye opening and intriguing. It’s a love story written real world style, even though there was beauty and money added in to the story, they were fixes….This is not a story about the sad lonely rich girl marrying mister right, and settling down in the white picket fenced house with two kids and a dog and happy ever after. This is a story about how hard it really is to make a marriage work, and that sometimes you cannot. Matt and Lucy’s story is one that is sad and yet beautiful at the same time.
The story is written in two separate points of views, Lucy’s and Matt’s. It flips between them every other chapter. This type of story does not always work, but was well done in this book. I was impressed at how well the author kept the chapters separate and allowed you to truly see both sides of the story. As I read, I found that I actually kept my sympathy more on Matt’s side all the way up until the very last chapters of the book. As a mom and a divorcee I was surprised to find my sympathies lying with Matt. It wasn’t that I couldn’t sympathize with her, as a mother it is often second nature to question whether you are good enough, it felt that Lucy took so much longer to grow up and accept her parental responsibilities then Matt did. It was not until Lucy finally seemed to turn her life around that I felt like she deserved that sympathy.
In the end my greatest sympathy was left with the children and how much they went through and the scar’s that they most likely bare from their parents. It was an eye opening book for me in seeing that relationships can really be very complex-it was interesting how much Lucy clung to unhealthy relationships, and that she never felt quite completely when she was in a boring normal one with Matt.
This book is a must read, but with that I will give a caution. If you are looking for a feel good book with a feel good love story to make your day complete, you may want to look elsewhere. If you want a story that will get you thinking-read this! I love a story that makes me really think. I was constantly putting myself in their shoes and thinking about how I would handle the situations. It really is an amazing book that allows you to step outside yourself and think a little deeper.
I have to thank James Thomson for the opportunity to read this book. It is a story I won’t soon forget.
