Three Books

Since my last post I have read three books: After the Moment, The Miles Between, and Emily.

After the Moment, by Garret Freymann-Weyr, was very touching. It was a love story, that started with the end first, which isn't something I usually like. I don't like knowing the end without knowing how the end came about. I like a nice linear storyline. Leigh, the main character, is 21 or so as he is telling the story, but the majority of it takes place his senior year of high school. Leigh was sweet and kind, and also very confused about his future and how to be a good man. Maia was, in her own words, a train wreck, with multiple disorders and emotional problems, but she was very caring and smart, and seemed to be more and more comfortable with herself as time went on. I liked them as a couple, though they seemed more in tune with each other as friends. The ending was okay, though I much prefer clear and concise endings instead of endings that leave me wondering if they end up together or not.

The Miles Between, by Mary E Pearson, was fantastic. I loved Destiny as a character, and all her quirks and stunted emotions. The road trip with her friends seemed so fun and also so eye-opening as they each learned to see the others as more three-dimensional people. I thought it was funny that Destiny thought they became her friends that day, when it seemed that in their eyes they already were her friends and cared for her as such. I wasn't expecting the intensely emotional parts towards the end, where we learn the truth about Destiny and her parents. I literally could not get over it after reading it, I will tear up if I even start thinking about it. And while getting upset or sad because of a book isn't exactly fun, it is wonderful when a book or story can move you that much.

Emily is from the Louder Than Words book series, which are books written by girls who have been through some type of struggle or hard time. Emily is a girl from a large menonite family in Oregon who gets sick more than the average person. At the beginning of her senior year in high school, she finds out she has contracted West Nile virus. Her story is taken from her blog posts from that time and covers roughly one year of her life. She went through a lot, enduring sickness and loneliness, and also missing her friends since she was too weak to go out very much. It was a very honest account, and she never seemed to feel sorry for herself, I think because of her belief in God and that He would only the things that were supposed to happen to happen to her. I hope that Emily is feeling better now, she does still keep a blog I believe, and I'm glad that her struggle that year and the time following have made her stronger.

The next book I am going to start is Get Well Soon by Julie Halpern. I was browsing around Barnes & Noble today and came across it and a few other books that seemed interesting, including Stiff by Mary Roach, which is all about the various uses for our bodies after our souls have left them.

After

Last night I started and finished After by Amy Efaw. It's about the 10 or so days following the main character, Devon, after she gives birth in her bathroom without actually knowing she was pregnant before those moments. Devon was 15 or 16, I forget, and she was a star soccer player and student. After she gives birth, she puts the baby in a trash can, and though the baby is found, she is arrested for attempted murder and abandonment. One of the most important parts of the book is the trial to determine whether she will be tried as an adult or as a juvenile. I could tell that the author had to put a lot of research into the book and that she cared a lot about the topic to write such a sensitive account of a story that happens a lot more often that you would expect it to.

Most people wouldn't be able to fathom putting their own child out with the trash, but after reading this book, I can understand that Devon did not have a bond with the child because she didn't know she was pregnant and therefore didn't spend time loving the baby before it was born. Giving birth is painful as it it, but at least most people are expecting it and know they already love their child, Devon didn't have that and probably just wanted to get rid of the source of pain, which was the baby. The trial was very interesting, and I really liked Devon's lawyer. Her lawyer was smart and well-spoken and taught Devon to be strong throughout such a tough time. Devon's mom, on the other hand, disappeared after her daughter was arrested and didn't show up til the night before the hearing.

I liked following Devon's emotional journey, and though we are left not knowing about her actual trial or sentence, it is nice to know that the judge thought she could be rehabilitated and had potential to give back to the world by keeping her in the juvenile system.

I'm now starting After the Moment by Garret Freymann-Weyr. I think it is supposed to be about young love and how sometimes it doesn't work out how you want it to. I'll let ya know.