Willow

I bought it in like new condition, and it arrived perfectly! Very happy.

Willow by Julia Hoban follows Willow after she looses her parents in a car accident. Since Willow was the one driving the car, she blames herself for the accident and her parents' death and the fact that she has to live with her brother and become a "burden" to him. With all this overwhelming her, she cuts herself to block the pain. Once she meets Guy, her world turns upside down.I thought this book sounded interesting because it was about a cutter and I haven't seen too many about that topic. Plus, as someone who used to be a cutter, I felt like I would relate more so to the MC. Some things I felt were really good in this book, while other things weren't as good as they could have been.-I didn't like the fact that Willow seemed to be high when she was cutting. I don't remember acting like I was on drugs or anything when I was cutting. Highly doubt many people actually feel like that. If that was the case, I'm pretty sure all those who were on drugs would just cut themselves when they ran out of money to feel the same way as they do when they're on drugs.-Didn't like how it was more the physical pain numbs the mental pain. Really? So you feel pain on yourself and that takes away the pain you should be feeling for others/yourself? Instead of saying, hey I lost my parents, let me grieve for that, you just beat yourself up to not think about that? Honestly?-Didn't care for the repetition of many things such as she's alone, misses her parents, feels guilty, feels like a burden, etc. It's repeated so many times it's pretty much the only thing you'll get from this book.-While it's not a big thing, I feel like the book would have been a bit better in first person instead of third. I think knowing exactly and feeling exactly what Willow felt-like more in her head-would have been a bit better for the reader. This doesn't affect the score I give so much, just a personal preference.-Guy wasn't bad at times, but I didn't like how he was like a therapist when he shouldn't be or he was just insensitive, saying things like don't you know what this is doing to my personal life? I mean, really? You are going to tell someone who is depressive and mutilates themselves that they're interrupting *your* personal life? That *you* don't need to deal with them right now? Really?-At times I could relate to Willow and other times I found her rather annoying and more "oh, whoa is me" attitude.-SPOILER: Towards the end, when Willow goes back to her old house, it all starts to change for her, something happened where she doesn't feel she needs to cut anymore. Thus the whole sleeping with Guy part. Which is fine. But what bothers me more is that she keeps the razors even though she doesn't need them because she's not sure if she's going to use them later on. So, in a way even though she's better, she's still not better. That is, until Guy tells her to throw them out and after he says it a couple of times, she listens to him and throws them out. If it was more of a "I'm doing this because I want to, not because someone tells me to" feel to it, then I wouldn't be upset about it as much. But as it was, it felt more as she's giving up ever doing it because he tells her to. Yes, she did stop on her own, but there was still a hesitation to give it up and to fully and completely stop forever. It was Guy who made her not hesitate anymore. END SPOILERLike I said, there were some things that were really good in this book but there were some things that weren't as good either. Overall, not a bad book. I think I would recommend it to some, but I might let them borrow mine before they purchased one.

"It's so curious: one can resist tears and `behave' very well in the hardest hours of grief. But then someone makes you a friendly sign behind a window, or one notices that a flower that was in bud only yesterday has suddenly blossomed, or a letter slips from a drawer... and everything collapses." ~ColetteHow true.In life we deal with 2 types of pain, emotional and physical. Most of the time the two are mutually exclusive, however at times they are triggered by the other. "Willow" by Julia Hoban is just one example of what happens when the inability to control your emotions leads to the compulsion to feel physical relief.Willow talks to no one, she wears long sleeves regardless of the weather, and she is addicted to pain. Why? because she is a cutter. Unable to deal with the emotional responsibility of her parents sudden death (that she inadvertently caused) Willow does the only thing she can think...she abolishes her heartache with physical pain, but when a boy named Guy suddenly takes notice of her...and her arms, something snaps. Will Guy's intense nature eventually help, or hinder Willow's little problem? Will Willow ever understand the significance of crying, and if she finally does...will it be enough to stop her destructive behavior?I know it can sometimes be confusing when I label devastating literature as beautiful... but that's what it is. When a book has the ability to make you forget where you are, feel the pain, and love of its characters, and push the boundaries of what is acceptable conversation... it is no longer a book. It is art. Hoban created a story that was so overwhelming, that at times I felt as if I would explode from the on-slot of sensory overload. The skeletal plot of "Willow" was about love, grief, and understanding... but the lessons in between are what is important: acceptance, compassion, compulsion, redemption, and the ability to let go. There are several places through-out this novel in which you will hang your head in disbelief, unable to mentally comprehend what is actually happening, and even more moments in which you will find yourself shaking or crying. Let it happen... it's what keeps you from becoming broken...it's what keeps you from becoming Willow.Now, I could write for days, pages of beautiful words to express what I felt for this book... the writing was breathtaking, the plot was wonderful, I fell in love with a damaged girl...but none of it would ever be enough. So it leaves me only one solution, you will just have to read if for yourself.Happy reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: YOU create your own paradise, and your own prison.

Fast shipping! I was waiting so incredibly impatiently for this book to arrive, and was so happy when it did. I read the entire book in only a couple hours. I was unable to put it down. I related to Willow so much; i was surprised, i never find book characters that i relate to personally, and that made me love it even more. This book was in excellent condition, and i intend on buying from this seller again in the future if i ever see anything else i wish to buy from them. I said this already, but loved this book, loved the characters, loved the pairing of Willow&Guy i ship them so hard. I`m fangirling over them! Julia Hoban is an incredible author and i hope to read more of her books in the future.

This book is completely raw and beautiful. Although some of it was found triggering for me, it gave a sense of hope I haven't got while reading any other book. Everything is just flawless. Absolute perfection.

Great engaging read. One of the better books on this topic.

Very good book hard to put down once started

When I bought the book I had high expectations after reading the reviews. I was disappointed to say the least. Usually with books I find myself reading for hours on end and cant bring myself to put it down, but with this I could quite easily leave it for days on end. Frankly, i was bored.The relationship between Willow and Guy was somewhat interesting and was the only thing I actually liked about the book.Overall, its not as good as others i have read.