REVIEW: ME SINCE YOU BY LAURA WIESS.

Title: Me Since You
Author: Laura Wiess
Edition: eBook
Published: February 18, 2014
Publisher: MTV Books (Simon and Schuster)
Pages: 432
Source: Edelweiss
Category: Romance, Fantasy
Trailer: Not applicable.

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Synopsis:

“Laura Wiess’s masterful prose kept me turning the pages. This is the first book in a very long time that made me say, ‘Wish I’d written this’” (Ellen Hopkins, author of Crank, on Such a Pretty Girl).

Sixteen-year-old Rowan is still reeling from her father’s suicide four months ago, after he failed to stop a man from leaping off an overpass to his death. The only witness is Eli, a teenaged boy wrapped deep in mourning for his own father, killed in action in Afghanistan. When Rowan and Eli meet, they recognize kindred spirits, and begin to navigate grief and its aftermath together.

Rowan can’t understand how her father could choose to leave her, and acts out, pushing away friends and taking risks with her safety. Rowan’s mother, wracked with her own guilt and sorrow over failing to save her husband, stops going to work and collects stray cats for comfort. Grief, fractured and unpredictable, rules their lives now. Rowan is lost—and sinking. But Eli represents a lifeline for Rowan, and as they struggle to make sense of what’s gone and what is left behind, they begin to fall in love. Me Since You is Laura Wiess at her finest—a beautiful, gripping and painfully honest examination of adolescence.

*COULD BE SPOILERY*

Me Since You requires 3 boxes of Kleenex.

If you have been following my blog for quite some time now or even on Twitter, you would know how I sucked at Bokeh shots especially applied on book covers. The moment I saw the cover of this, the connection I had with it came natural, like breathing. I even featured this on my WoW post months back. Thankfully, I was approved on Edelweiss and made it TBR priority. The sleepless night I spent reading this and the tears are all worth it. I would do it all over again if I have to.

This book can be summed into one word: tears.

Rowan is a little rebellious. Her dad is a police officer who is a bit over-protective. You can't blame him because of the cases he handled in the past. He just wants to protect her only daughter. When Rowan is caught cutting classes for a date that didn't push through, his dad accompanies her back home and scolds her. Of course, she talked back. Nick is radio-ed for a reported jumper with a 3 month old baby boy and he goes there for rescue. Eli is there too, he saw the jumper and he is trying to talk the guy out of it. Nick and Eli weren't able to save them. He jumped in front of them and it took every energy Nick has not to be affected. He eventually falls into Depression and kills himself. Rowan couldn't stop blaming herself about it and the grief's overwhelming. She never stops wishing she could go back in time to save his father. But it was all too late.

REVIEWER: Me at 16.
I totally clicked with Rowan but hated her all at the same time. She couldn't do what pleases her because of her strict parents which pushed her to be rebellious. I believe it happens mostly to teenagers. How can parents be so annoyingly strict? Its as if they didn't go through puberty stage themselves. Most of the time, they are just being ridiculous for making teen's lives so miserable that even going out with friends can be a strenuous chore. You couldn't predict what they want. It is too hard to please them. Worse, they don't even listen because parents always say the same thing, you live under their roof so you have to follow them. I've been through this and I know how frustrating it is to be stuck in a place where your decision and take on things will never matter. Rowan chose to act against all this plus she talks back with is agonizing. She sneaks out once in a while and totally embarrasses her dad but as I have said, it happens. No matter how much she knows how self-centered she is, she's at war with herself. Being a little rebellious at 16 I think is a part of growing up. But I wish she didn't hold back in saying what she truly feels for her father like how much she loves him. I wish she did express how much he means to her.

REVIEWER: Me past 20.
Sigh. What I wouldn't do to have Nick for a dad. He's loving, protective, caring and passionate. All he could think of is how to make life safe and sound for her daughter. He represents the way a dad should be: responsible in every aspect. His character made me understand how hard it is to be a parent and giving everything he could isn't always enough for others. Even for her own child. Being an officer took most of his time from his family and it totally took its toll on him. He couldn't save a man with his child from jumping off the overpass and he took it heavily. It made him depressed and dysfunctional. I honestly couldn't understand why he chose to leave but I respect his decision. It was a brave decision. You know why? A lot of people, including myself, are afraid to die but Nick faced it not because he's selfish but I believe he no longer wants to see his family hurt because of his current status. That he wanted them to be free of burden. It was really a painful act and yes, I cried so hard because it just ripped me raw. He loved his family so much. I wish though he stayed. And there are a ton of lines that triggered my tear ducts to produce a bucket of tears but this one produced Pacific Ocean: "I forgive you, Dad.". Ouch.

REVIEWER: The blogger in me.
At some point, I got lost and annoyed. How many times did the word "God" appear in it? How many times can a character be self-centered? How many times can a scene jump from one to another? I was just beginning to be attached to the moment yet the next thing you knew, you're shifting to a new one. Good thing though, the premise is enlightening. I enjoyed Daze, Stripe and Sage. I enjoyed Vinnie and Eva. I loved Eli and Nick my heart aches so much for them. And the entirety of the story? Informative. It makes one see the side of a hormonal induced teenager who wants to live her life her ways and the side of loving parents who wanted nothing else but good things for their child. It also made me see Depression in a different light, too. I thought it was merely an issue about feeling too low or too sad. I never associated it with any chemical imbalance in the brain but now I know. Me Since You is one of the emotionally invested novels I've read and it is like something is gripping your heart that every beat hurts. I wanted to hug my phone and whisper to the characters that I understand the grief. That I love the story. That I loved everything about this novel. That because of this, I wanted to forgive my own father.

Me Since You is a beautiful novel that mirrors hope and love in every single detail of life. The overall impact of the story is telling us to value not only our parents but the people around us who care, who are special to us. Life is too damn short to live with regrets. It drives the emotional capacity to such level that only tears could understand. I loved this. I loved how some fathers could love their child without question, without limits and would sacrifice their own life to give peace to their child's broken heart.

Thank you so much Edelweiss, MTV Books and Simon and Schuster for the review copy!

"A kid shouldn't grow up thinking his father didn't care about him. It screws him up inside."

"I didn't know my chances were limited. I didn't know they could run out but now I do, I really do and so all I need is one more chance to change it. In a world where anything can be bought, sold, stolen, begged or bartered, reversed or advanced, it's not a lot to ask. It really isn't. It's just one chance to save one man."

"Home is the loneliest place in the world, with the exception of my heart. And yet it's the only place I belong."

"Love is a wonderful, healing thing. It helps you look toward tomorrow instead of always wishing for yesterday."