Seventeen, wuthering heights obsessed, clarinet player, band geek. Also hopeless romantic, prone to scattering poems all over town and as of four weeks ago, sisterless....
A heart-breaking, heart-lifting, utterly compelling and completely unforgettable novel about first love and first loss"
First thing I notice is... The writing style is going to take a little getting used to, reading words like swashbuckling. I struggled there a little, but only at first. And obviously being very much from a teenagers perspective, while me being rather beyond that. But I do love reading books about young adults, it's the fact it's mostly about someone's first love, and what love is more intense and interesting then that? So here is a book about Lennie, who's interest in boys literally starts at the worse time possible, at a time where she is grieving for her sister. Suddenly all she thinks about is kissing boys. 2 in particular, but while one isn't so easy to figure out, the other one is kind of off limits while being the only one she feels can understand how she feels.
Through the book we see how a already untraditional family copes with loosing another member. How it changes the dynamics in the house between them and everyone else. We get to read poems and notes that Lennie writes about her feelings and other things, which she always crumbles up after. Those give a rather deep inside into her heart and mind.
So Lennie finds herself torn between two boys, one who shares her loss and understands her completely and one who only knows her as she is now and who is capable to take her mind of her loss. Playing with fire tho can never end well.
The true dilemma for Lennie is the timing "I am supposed to be grieving, not falling in love." How can you be happy when your sister isn't there anymore? How can you feel even more alive and awake? Stepping out of her big sisters shadow changes her in many different ways.
And even while all this is happening there is still the mystery that is her mother, who has disappeared from their life 16 years ago.
So all in all, after a shaky start, I loved this book. It's beautifully quirky written. It's full of heart, love, loss, life and surprises. It's one of those books that stays with you even long after you have finished it. It shows us that there is no perfect moment to fall in love or right way to move on. I absolutely adored Lennie's rather crazy family. I wanted to live in her house and see the garden. I enjoyed every moment watching her find herself step by step. This is a beautiful story and one I couldn't put down. Can't recommend it enough!
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