“You make me happy, even when you’re awful. I would rather be with you—even the you that you seem to think is diminished—than with anyone else in the world.”
I love these kinds of books. The kind that, for a short while, can make you completely and utterly submerged in the characters’ world. For a few hours, I felt like I was breathing the same air as Louisa and Will. I had such a strong connection with them and could relate and sympathize with their narratives.
I loved the main characters and this beautiful, touching story.
Louisa lost her job and, almost by chance, becomes the caretaker of a paralyzed man, Will. She tries to be bubbly and cheerful around Will, but he is rude and cold toward her. After work Louisa goes home to her pathetic boyfriend and poor, dysfunctional family.
Will and Louisa’s personalities fit so well together. Louisa was dynamic and colorful and loved to laugh, while Will was more reserved, and his fondness for life had completely vanished after his accident . . . that is, until he meets Louisa. As she slowly breaks down the walls he has built up, she tries to make him want to live again.
Will and Louisa were so open with each other; they could be real jerks, but they were also sweet and caring. Their conversations made me laugh—here is one funny scene after Louisa spills pasta sauce on Will:
I plugged in the hair dryer and directed the nozzle toward his crotch.
As the hot air blasted onto his trousers he raised his eyebrows.
“Yes, well,” I said. “It’s not exactly what I expected to be doing on a Friday afternoon either.”
“You really are tense, aren’t you?”
I could feel him studying me.
“Oh, lighten up, Clark. I’m the one having scalding hot air directed at my genitals.”
I learned much more about paralysis through this book. Will is a quadriplegic, confined to a wheelchair, and can’t move from the chest down. Reading about his situation made me extremely grateful that all my limbs still work. Sometimes you don’t know how privileged you are until you compare yourself to someone far worse off.
If you haven’t read this book then it’s probably not quite what you expect—it’s much less of a romance than the summary implies and more of a tale following two broken friends looking out for each other.
Are you looking for a book that will tear at your heartstrings? You needn’t look any further. The writing was brilliant, full of emotion, and each scene was perfectly executed.
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