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eupomene's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoy Ellen Wittlinger's books and this one is no different. Liz's grandmother, Bunny, has just died, and Liz's mom copes with this by attending a Spiritualist church in hopes of reaching Bunny on the other side. Liz spends most of the story battling with her mother, wanting to be her daughter as much as her mother was Bunny's. It's an interesting relationship where the teen seems more adult than the mom.
Adding to the mix is a neighbor, dying of leukemia, who has brought her two kids back to her mother -- the crotchety old lady that Liz has always hated. These two mother-daughter relationships, plus Liz's new friendship with the kids (one of whom is a boy her age), make an interesting tale of familial love. Liz's piano-playing adds even more sparkle. Very well done.
Adding to the mix is a neighbor, dying of leukemia, who has brought her two kids back to her mother -- the crotchety old lady that Liz has always hated. These two mother-daughter relationships, plus Liz's new friendship with the kids (one of whom is a boy her age), make an interesting tale of familial love. Liz's piano-playing adds even more sparkle. Very well done.
swilcox2's review against another edition
4.0
This book is amazing. The story of both of Liz and Nathan's tragic losses somehow winds into a perfect story of love and tragedy. Liz is a down-to-earth narrator who uses music as her way of escaping from her run-of-the-mill life. As it is with most books of this genre, at least one of Liz's parents is slightly scatterbrained and nonchalant when it comes to caring for Liz, and this explains her extreme independence and the need she feels to always be at peace with her mother.
Nathan's character is addicting, but not in a romantic way. This story is more a story of friendship and tragedy than a story of love.
I recommend this to anyone in the mood for a good read with love, family angst, and a good cast of characters.
Nathan's character is addicting, but not in a romantic way. This story is more a story of friendship and tragedy than a story of love.
I recommend this to anyone in the mood for a good read with love, family angst, and a good cast of characters.
emmayvonne's review against another edition
3.0
I can't really decide how i feel about this book, there was just a lot of issues that weren't really worked out.
The whole plot revolves around death, and God. This is a touchy subject for me, it's not that i think the idea of God is stupid, it's just that i have a hard time getting around it, and watching these people literally devote their whole lives to it made me find it difficult to enjoy the story. Liz's mother just made me angry in so many ways, she just disregards everyone else's feelings, i couldn't stand her character at all!
The insta-love was also a huge problem for me. I felt like i never got to know either of the main characters. Both Liz and Nathan were these enigmas, we never knew about their likes or dislikes, we just knew that they were grieving. They fall in love after 4 days or something, and Liz is only 15, I feel like that's way to young to be feeling the things she was.
Although i was quite annoyed with certain aspects, the whole idea of religion was portrayed brilliantly. Not once did the author disregard the idea of God, now did Wittlinger support it. The ideas presented about religion were thoughtful and extremely well written, not once did i feel like i was being forced into a religion. The plot really did make me think about how God affects people's lives, and the way he/she is used to support bad events as well as good ones.
The ending was very anti climatic, and extremely rushed. I was quite disappointed with it, however the whole novel was fairly though provoking, as well as tear jerking. I recommend this to anyone who is interested in grief, and the way religion touches our lives.
The whole plot revolves around death, and God. This is a touchy subject for me, it's not that i think the idea of God is stupid, it's just that i have a hard time getting around it, and watching these people literally devote their whole lives to it made me find it difficult to enjoy the story. Liz's mother just made me angry in so many ways, she just disregards everyone else's feelings, i couldn't stand her character at all!
The insta-love was also a huge problem for me. I felt like i never got to know either of the main characters. Both Liz and Nathan were these enigmas, we never knew about their likes or dislikes, we just knew that they were grieving. They fall in love after 4 days or something, and Liz is only 15, I feel like that's way to young to be feeling the things she was.
Although i was quite annoyed with certain aspects, the whole idea of religion was portrayed brilliantly. Not once did the author disregard the idea of God, now did Wittlinger support it. The ideas presented about religion were thoughtful and extremely well written, not once did i feel like i was being forced into a religion. The plot really did make me think about how God affects people's lives, and the way he/she is used to support bad events as well as good ones.
The ending was very anti climatic, and extremely rushed. I was quite disappointed with it, however the whole novel was fairly though provoking, as well as tear jerking. I recommend this to anyone who is interested in grief, and the way religion touches our lives.
classiccaitlin's review against another edition
4.0
Really amazing book. I read this a while ago but I still remember enjoying it and feeling like it was one of the first really deep books I ever read. I really loved it.
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