Publication: November 10, 2015, by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux BFYR
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 304
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Rating:
Seventeen-year-old Tamsen Baird didn’t set out to become a teenage widow. All she did was fall in love and get married. But when her nineteen-year-old husband, Noah, dies suddenly in the middle of the night, her whole life changes. Now Tam is forced to return to the existence she thought she’d left behind—beginning with moving back home and finishing high school. But in order to overcome her loss and find her way forward, she’ll need to reinvent herself and reach out to others in ways she never imagined. She’ll need to open herself up to living—and even loving—again.
In Young Widows Club, Alexandra Coutts depicts a teenager whose struggle with grief and disappointment is heartbreakingly real and, in the end, powerfully uplifting.
My Thoughts:
A few years ago, I fell in love with Alexandra's angelic trilogy also known as the lovely Halo trilogy. I do not know if I would still love it to this day, because my tastes have definitely changed and I cannot really call myself a fan of paranormal fiction anymore (and probably will never call myself a fan of that ever again), but I loved it. And then, Tumble and Fall was released and I fell out of love with Alexandra's writing. I was hesitant to give this beauty a chance, but it turned out to be beautiful, just like I first experienced in Halo. Young Widows Club features a concept that no author has ever battled before. I do not know if it is because authors are scared, or because no author has ever thought about it before. All in all, I must say that a teenage character being a widow is a first.
Reading the title, I expected something a little different. In fact, I expected this novel that was supposed to be all about characters who are all widows. Characters as in a plural word. I expected a group of girls who are each battling their own demons after experiencing horrible circumstances in the past. I don't know why I expected that, having read the summary a little bit (I never like to spoil it too much for me). Anyways, I must say that this turned out to be such a stellar read.
The Reasons WHY YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON THIS STORY:
1. UNO. It's super sad. I love sad books—not because I enjoy when characters get depressed (that's just savaged) but because those books make my feels squirt around and go crazy. I love when books MAKE ME GET THE FEELS. This book did it wonderfully. We see grief (obviously) and themes that are not featured in some of the saddest YA books but are featured here. I love the character relationships too.
2. TAMSEN, THE MAIN CHARACTER. Tamsen's character is a representation of how many people overcome grief. She's such a great person overall and Alexandra added just the right amount emotion into her to make her story seem real. I liked her independence (sass, at times), and personality as a whole.
3. The Ending. Puzzle pieces, people. Everything was placed together beautifully. I LEGITIMATELY HAD TEARS IN MY EYES. I cannot relive these moments again.
~~
I was bothered by the romance. HONESTLY? PLEASSSEEE WHY?! I understand that books are written for readers' entertainment, but I was not entertained by Tamsen's new romance/love story at all. This is a story about grief, my friends, and not a new connection. *yawns*
Young Widows Club was ten times more better than I expected. I loved how concerned I felt with it all and how entitled I felt to continue reading it in a sitting. It is extremely light, quick, but meaningful to everyone, even though some of us have not yet experienced love. It's a rare find that makes you want to feel all angst-y and upset. But hey, a lot of us are teenagers, and we sometimes overreact. This was not a young woman's overreaction... at all.
*A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review. Thank you so much!*
Reading the title, I expected something a little different. In fact, I expected this novel that was supposed to be all about characters who are all widows. Characters as in a plural word. I expected a group of girls who are each battling their own demons after experiencing horrible circumstances in the past. I don't know why I expected that, having read the summary a little bit (I never like to spoil it too much for me). Anyways, I must say that this turned out to be such a stellar read.
The Reasons WHY YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON THIS STORY:
1. UNO. It's super sad. I love sad books—not because I enjoy when characters get depressed (that's just savaged) but because those books make my feels squirt around and go crazy. I love when books MAKE ME GET THE FEELS. This book did it wonderfully. We see grief (obviously) and themes that are not featured in some of the saddest YA books but are featured here. I love the character relationships too.
2. TAMSEN, THE MAIN CHARACTER. Tamsen's character is a representation of how many people overcome grief. She's such a great person overall and Alexandra added just the right amount emotion into her to make her story seem real. I liked her independence (sass, at times), and personality as a whole.
3. The Ending. Puzzle pieces, people. Everything was placed together beautifully. I LEGITIMATELY HAD TEARS IN MY EYES. I cannot relive these moments again.
~~
I was bothered by the romance. HONESTLY? PLEASSSEEE WHY?! I understand that books are written for readers' entertainment, but I was not entertained by Tamsen's new romance/love story at all. This is a story about grief, my friends, and not a new connection. *yawns*
Young Widows Club was ten times more better than I expected. I loved how concerned I felt with it all and how entitled I felt to continue reading it in a sitting. It is extremely light, quick, but meaningful to everyone, even though some of us have not yet experienced love. It's a rare find that makes you want to feel all angst-y and upset. But hey, a lot of us are teenagers, and we sometimes overreact. This was not a young woman's overreaction... at all.
*A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review. Thank you so much!*
What is a concept that is extremely rare, but has been done in YA? Have you read anything by Alexandra before?
No comments :
Post a Comment
I love comments, I always read them, they always make my day and help me improve my posts. Thank you!