“I smiled through much of this book, even chuckling a few times, but also cried more when all was said and done than I have reading a book in years. Probably at least a decade, when finishing "All We Know of Heaven." (I was younger then - who knows if I'd respond the same now?)I feel almost reverential after having read this book. I'm frequently disappointed with books whose characters are caricature, and not the sort who actually populate my life; whose plot lines are too meticulous and tidy, even through the trying times that are simply outlines expanded upon; whose words are either too careful, too stilted and hard to be enveloped by, or so loose and ill-considered ("PS, I Love You," anyone?) they may as well have been sixth grade love letters. In this I found a book that was an outpouring of genuine observation, a reflection of the kinds of lives lived by me and my friends, and full of the thoughts and dreams and heartbreaks and hopes we have for our lives, all in turn.Reading this book recalled some of the rougher moments in my life, things I haven't thought about in years. Some of my crying was as a result of remembering those moments, so vividly, and feeling glad that if I didn't ever write them down, someone else had those same experiences, those same feelings, and had gotten the heart of them down for me, albeit with different names. I can't help but feel this is a success for so truly, so sweetly and yet unsentimentally capturing the whole spectrum in 325 pages.And I suppose I'm a little surprised by silver's comment below. Don't we already know how all our individual stories end? Isn't it the reflection, the laughter, the moments of connection that define a story, or life? I was swept up in this book, absolutely, in each choice and heartfelt (impossibly fictional!) letter, and I'm SO GLAD I broke my rule about buying new books before finishing the old ones, because as a result I picked this one up on a whim, and feel suddenly like writing all the people I love, just to say hello and I love them. Yeah, you know how the story will "end," but isn't it the getting there that's the point?”
“I've read other books with this style so it was alright, plus i loved the book it made me laugh so hard.”
“Have you read this book? I tried, but I couldnt get into it, but maybe I just didnt try hard enough!”
“Though I enjoyed this book I kind of felt like something was missing. Perhaps the ending just wasn't much of a surprise. i don't know about other people, but from the very first page I just knew that Madeline was going to die. Even through the remissions tried to give hope, you just knew that was how the story ended.”
