Review: Willow

Title: Willow
Author: Julia Hoban
Publication date: April 2nd, 2009

Summary:
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 of her parents were killed.

Now seventeen, Willow is living with her older brother, who can barely speak
to her. She has left 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 Willow’s secret, he pulls her out of the solitary world she’s created for herself, and into a difficult, intense, and potentially life-changing relationship.

Julia Hoban has created an unflinching story about cutting, grieving, and starting
anew. But above all, she has written an unforgettable tale of first love.

Review:
Oh my goodness, I don't even know where to start with this! I suppose I'll start by saying that first of all, I loved the cover on this book. This would be a book that I would buy on impulse for the cover alone, even if I knew nothing else about it.
But more importantly, the book itself was AMAZING. If you haven't read it yet, I strongly suggest that you get a copy as soon as possible. There are a few other YA books I'm aware of about cutting, but I think this one captures it almost perfectly. As someone who's witnessed a lot of other people struggle with cutting, I'd say that this book is very realistic. Willow was very real, and very powerful - on both the subject of cutting, and of finding love. It was written in such a way that you could definitely feel the emotion. I can't think of anything else I've read that was written quite like this - and I really liked it. I think I've run out of words to describe how I felt about this book. If you haven't read it, and want to, do yourself a favor and find a copy of it somewhere. I know I had a bit of a hard time finding it because Borders didn't carry it, but if you can get a copy of it, it's an absolutely amazing book that I would recommend to anybody. It's definitely in the top 10 of my all time favorite books.


Characters: 10/10
Plot: 10/10
Originality: 9/10
Writing: 10/10
Overall grade: A+