***The Starry-Eyed Revue***: cammie mcgovern

Title: Say What You Will
Author: Cammie McGovern
Narrator(s): Rebecca Lowman
Series: n/a
Length: 9 hrs 2 mins
Publisher: HarperAudio
Publication Date: June 3, 2014
Source: from publisher via Edelweiss, audio borrowed from library
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

John Green's The Fault in Our Stars meets Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor & Park in this beautifully written, incredibly honest, and emotionally poignant novel. Cammie McGovern's insightful young adult debut is a heartfelt and heartbreaking story about how we can all feel lost until we find someone who loves us because of our faults, not in spite of them.

Born with cerebral palsy, Amy can't walk without a walker, talk without a voice box, or even fully control her facial expressions. Plagued by obsessive-compulsive disorder, Matthew is consumed with repeated thoughts, neurotic rituals, and crippling fear. Both in desperate need of someone to help them reach out to the world, Amy and Matthew are more alike than either ever realized.

When Amy decides to hire student aides to help her in her senior year at Coral Hills High School, these two teens are thrust into each other's lives. As they begin to spend time with each other, what started as a blossoming friendship eventually grows into something neither expected.

Nope. I do not agree with that statement at the beginning of the synopsis up there. If anything, the relationship between Amy and Matthew reminds me more of the one in Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy...a ton of give and take, push and pull, the two main characters either super close or at each other's throat. And I loved Side Effects May Vary, so I mean that in the best possible way.

And as with that novel, I think this is going to be one of those stories that readers will probably either love or hate. There are going to be times that you'll completely forget that Amy has CP and you'll see her as a normal girl, and then she'll do something or make some regrettable choice, and it'll be blatantly obvious that she's anything but normal. You might even hate how some of her "hired" friends seem to use and take advantage of her. But don't let that fool you. Amy is not a push-over and she knows what she's doing. For the most part, anyway.

With Matthew, there's the possibility that he can overcome his diagnosis, and he does manage it -- with therapy and medication -- once he admits that he does need help. Amy is not so lucky. They both face their share of challenges, but it's the significant misunderstandings and miscommunication between them that challenges their friendship the most. They're both fairly honest and forthright, but it's often what they don't say that causes them the most problems. And this may cause a lot of readers, myself included, not to connect with them or even like them at times, but I think that's the point of the story: making friends in the face of adversity and the diverse group of people that comes along with that.

I received a copy for review, but I didn't make it to it, so I downloaded the audiobook from my library as soon as it was available. And I probably enjoyed it that much more because Rebecca Lowman narrates it. (She has narrated all but one of Rainbow Rowell's books, FYI.) She's great for a story like this, told in 3rd person but from two different perspectives. Her voice is feminine enough but she can also take it into a slightly deeper vocal register for male characters. Actually, it sounds more like my sarcastic voice, when I talk out the side of my mouth, but either way, it works.

I think it's okay to empathize with Amy and Matthew, but I think it's even better to pull for them and hope that they'll rise above their illnesses and become everything they want to be, individually and together. They find each other. They make mistakes. And they find each other once more, only to do it all over again. No one said it would be an easy journey, but I think it's an honest one, and that's what I liked about it.

GIF it to me straight:

It wasn't nearly as sad as I was expecting. Instead, it was rather uplifting.

About the author:

Cammie McGovern was born in Evanston, Illinois, but moved to Los Angeles when she was seven years old. She is the author of three adult novels, The Art of Seeing, Eye Contact, and Neighborhood Watch. Say What You Will will be published by HarperTeen in June, 2014. She currently lives in Amherst, MA, with her husband and three sons, the oldest of whom is autistic.

Find Cammie:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Labels: all the feels, audiobooks, cammie mcgovern, contemporary, harper-collins, reviews, say what you will, tough subject

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's WoW selection is...

Title: Say What You Will
Author: Cammie McGovern
Series: stand-alone
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: June 3, 2014

I want someone who will talk to me honestly about things. You're the only person who ever has. Maybe you don't know this, but when you're disabled almost no one tells you the truth. They feel too awkward because the truth seems too sad, I guess. You were very brave to walk up to the crippled girl and say, essentially, wipe that sunny expression off your face and look at reality. That's what I want you to do next year. Tell me the truth. That's all.

Amy and Matthew didn't know each other, really. They weren't friends. Matthew remembered her, sure, but he remembered a lot of people from elementary school that he wasn't friends with now.

Matthew never planned to tell Amy what he thought of her cheerful facade, but after he does, Amy realizes she needs someone like him in her life.

As they begin to spend more time with each other, Amy learns that Matthew has his own secrets and she decides to try to help him in the same way he's helped her. And when what started out as a friendship turns into something neither of them expected, they realize that they tell each other everything—except the one thing that matters most.

I love the simplistic cover, the tagline that reads, "Sometimes love is everything you can't say." And I love that the story sounds sad but hopeful. I hope it's as sweet as it promises to be and doesn't just end up breaking my heart. But I think I'd be okay with it if it did end up that way.

Title: Since You've Been Gone
Author: Morgan Matson
Series: stand-alone
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: May 6, 2014

The Pre-Sloane Emily didn't go to parties, she barely talked to guys, she didn't do anything crazy. Enter Sloane, social tornado and the best kind of best friend—the one who yanks you out of your shell.But right before what should have been an epic summer, Sloane just... disappears. No note. No calls. No texts. No Sloane. There’s just a random to-do list. On it, thirteen Sloane-selected-definitely-bizarre-tasks that Emily would never try... unless they could lead back to her best friend. Apple Picking at Night? Ok, easy enough.Dance until Dawn? Sure. Why not? Kiss a Stranger? Wait... what?

Getting through Sloane’s list would mean a lot of firsts. But Emily has this whole unexpected summer ahead of her, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected) to check things off. Who knows what she’ll find?

Go Skinny Dipping? Um...

I've only read Amy & Roger's Epic Detour, but I know I'll have fun with anything this author writes, even if she does mix in the hopeful with the sads. And this one does sound really fun. Can't wait to read as Emily completes each task on the list!

So, yeah, two sad and sappy picks this week. Now that you know what I'm dying to read, what are you waiting on this week? Feel free to share it in the comments or leave a link so I can stop by!