***The Starry-Eyed Revue***: Laura Wiess

Title: Me Since You
Author: Laura Wiess
Series: n/a
Publisher: Gallery, Threshhold, Pocket Books (MTV Books)
Publication Date: February 18th, 2014
Source: received from publisher via NetGalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Laura Wiess captures the visceral emotion of a girl’s journey from innocence to devastating loss and, ultimately, to a strange and unexpected kind of understanding—in this beautiful and painfully honest new novel. Are there any answers when someone you love makes a tragic choice? Before and After. That’s how Rowan Areno sees her life now. Before: she was a normal sixteen-year-old—a little too sheltered by her police officer father and her mother. After: everything she once believed has been destroyed in the wake of a shattering tragedy, and every day is there to be survived. If she had known, on that Friday in March when she cut school, that a random stranger’s shocking crime would have traumatic consequences, she never would have left campus. If the crime video never went viral, maybe she could have saved her mother, grandmother — and herself — from the endless replay of heartache and grief. Finding a soul mate in Eli, a witness to the crime who is haunted by losses of his own, Rowan begins to see there is no simple, straightforward path to healing wounded hearts. Can she learn to trust, hope, and believe in happiness again?

This was not an easy book to read, I'm going to put that right out there. If I had to describe Me Since You in one word it would be depressing.

I don't think I have ever read a book as sad is this one. There is hope, but you have to work your way up to it. I had a really hard time picking it back up when I put it down. That is not because it wasn't good, it's a really great book but it's brutal. No sugar coating here.

Grief is a hard thing, and I think Me Since You really covered it to perfection. People are assholes and life is not fair. Things happen that are beyond your control, and yet the outcome controls every aspect of you. There is this thing called the ripple effect talked about and it's so true.

I'll admit, based on the description I really didn't know what kind of book I was getting myself into. It's a little vague and unclear so I looked at a few reviews before I picked it up and bam... spoiler in a none spoiler review. Ugh. But anyway, based on the description I thought it was about a school shooting or something. That is not the case at all.

It's hard to say I enjoyed Me Since You because I wanted to put it down and forget about it. I started dreaming I was in it. Lol. I'm glad I read it though, it will stick with me. It's written well but I think you kind of have to be in the right mood for it.

Oh and while setting this review up, I also want to mention how freaking perfect this cover is, because I didn't notice it until just now, but wow. :/ If you're in the mood for a good cry, check this one out.

About the author:

Laura Wiess is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Such a Pretty Girl, chosen as one of the ALA’s 2008 Best Books for Young Adults and 2008 YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers, and Leftovers. Originally from Milltown, New Jersey, she traded bumper-to-bumper traffic, excellent pizza, and summer days down the shore for scenic roads, bears, no pizza delivery, and the irresistible allure of an old stone house surrounded by forests in Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains Region.

Find Laura:

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