Caution: This is not a review. It's more of like, me expressing my thoughts on a wonderful book that I've finished reading last night and left me lying on my bed completely speechless.
And so here's the deal, I'm going to verbalize all my feelings for this book (spoilers and all) and no one's going to complain.
When Julie Seagle, a college freshman in Whitney who's from small-town Ohio, discovered that her "supposed to be" apartment in Boston was a, uh... burrito restaurant, she instantly called her mom home for help. The help turned out to be Erin Watkins, an old friend of her mom from college, and decidedly invited her to their home.
Despite the warm welcome and their good nature, the Watkins are a little bit... not normal for the typical household. The parents, Erin and Roger, are both academically driven to certain extremes and definitely love their professions to a large degree. Then there's Matt, the middle-child who enjoy Physics, theories, and the like. And then, Celeste. I picture her as a fragile, sweet girl who has a heartwarming smile and of course, with the genes of Erin and Roger, she's frighteningly bright for her age. But there's a catch. She carries a cardboard cutout of oldest brother. And yes, it's life-sized.
Finn, the oldest, is supposed to be funny, handsome, smart, adventurous, and loves to help people that are in need. But he's away, travelling around the world for wonderful causes, and is only available in Facebook and e-mails. And you know what? I fell in love with him, just like Julie did. And that's what I loved about the author. The story, it's efficacious. It's addicting. It's everything I like about a book.
And of course, let's not forget Julie has a family of her own... Sort of. Her parents are divorced since she was five, and her dad is always away for business. But something came up, her father asked her to go to California with him on Christmas break. Her old hopes were lifted high again. But you know what they say, "Those who rise the highest, falls the hardest."
She did. Her dad backed out from their trip and promised to be in Boston for New Year's Eve instead. Julie didn't had the guts to tell the Watkins that she wasn't going to Cali after all, so she decided to stay in the apartment of her friend Dana, who went home for Christmas. But things went a little rough with her father again, because their "supposed to be" dinner was off. He forgot to tell her that he's going to be in New York and Julie was left in a freaking expensive restaurant. Thank God her father's secretary backed her up and took care of things. And that's when Julie gave up setting hopes for her dad.
Desperate to talk to someone, she e-mailed Finn but didn't respond and thought that he's already asleep. So she called Matt. They talked and blabbered (in Julie's case, because she got drunk in the restaurant) throughout the night until Julie went to sleep.
Skip skip. She went to the Polar Plunge which Matt knew and thus fetched her in her frozen state along with Celeste. So she finally told the truth about her not going to Cali and all.
Skip skip. Then there's the coming-out-of-the-shell phase for Celeste. She finally pulled out from her old world and is slowly learning to be a normal teenager. With the help of Julie, of course. So when Celeste got invited for a party, everyone got ballistic. But of course, Celeste's parents and Matt agreed for her to come because she told them that she really want to go. But at the end, it went all bad. Celeste got a breakdown and asked for Matt to pick her up. Matt got so mad at Julie that she blamed herself entirely for this. But when Celeste calmed up a bit, she told Julie that it wasn't her fault and she really did wanted to come. Matt got all riled up and protective about Celeste that he said miserable words to Julie. So she e-mailed Finn and told him all about the incident, but he's nowhere to be found. Of all the wrong timing.
But Julie wanted Matt's forgiveness and went to his room and asked for it even though she knew he's still mad and frustrated. But he told her he didn't meant all those words and he was sorry, too. (It's my favorite scene, just so you know.) Then they kissed. (I know! I can't believe it either. I was always pinning for Finn that I totally forgot how sweet and lovable Matt is. I fell in love with all his e-mails and the way he talks to Julie that I totally forgot about Matt.)
Skip skip. Julie felt something's missing from the story. With the way everyone talks about Finn, and the way that Celeste has withdrawn from the outer world? There's really something.
Until, Erin told her that the room she's staying in is Matt's room, and the woodcraft "Wow" that's supposed to be "Mom" was from Matt, not Finn. And when Julie found out that the barrette Finn gave to Celeste that's supposed to be (Yeah, there's a lot of "supposed to be" in this novel) from somewhere distant and far away, was locally made.
And then there we are. The missing piece of the puzzle. The one-of-the-greatest-twists-in-YA-history. I know. It's great. I cried a lot while reading this. And laughed, too. I loved those parts. Especially when Matt's talking. And sorry! For uncovering the suspense for you! But I really can't help it because it was just so good. I'm going to leave it just that, so you still need to read the book. Ha! Enjoy! I know I did. Happy Holidays!
Grade:
A+
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