Published by Dial
Published on 2 April 2009
Hardcover, 329 pages
5 out of 5 stars
Seven months ago, on a rainy March night, sixteen year- old Willow’s parents died in a horrible car accident. Willow was driving. Now her older brother barely speaks to her, her new classmates know her as the killer orphan girl, and Willow is blocking the pain by secretly cutting herself. But when one boy—one sensitive, soulful boy—discovers Willow’s secret, it sparks an intense relationship that turns the “safe” world Willow has created for herself upside down.
Told in an extraordinary fresh voice, Willow is an unforgettable novel about one girl’s struggle to cope with tragedy, and one boy’s refusal to give up on her.
I was a bit dubious when I bought this book, I really didn't think it would be something that I would enjoy. I have a hard time relating to people who have extreme personal struggles, but I think this is due to the fact that it's never something I have experienced first hand, nor do I even want to experience it first hand. The story follows Willow, a seventeen year old girl who has a love affair with razor blades. Last year, she was driving her parents home from a night out, when she lost control of the car. Both of her parents died in the crash, which Willow blames herself for. She's left behind to pick up the pieces with her older brother David, who she thinks blames her for their parents death. The only way Willow can cope with the pain is to cut herself off from any emotional pain and turn it into physical, which is where her affair with the blades begin.
This book really affected me, I think I started crying about 15 pages in, and then struggled to stop for the rest of the novel. The fact that Willow feels she had no other way to deal with the pain is something that is explained so exceptionally by Hoban, that I never once thought she was weak for taking the easy way out. I never thought I would understand or appreciate where a self harmer was coming from, but I sympathised with Willow and could see like she could that the only way to stop the pain from taking over, was to take it into her own hands and control it. I will admit, at first the scenes in which Willow was self harming disgusted me, I hated them and couldn't wait for them to be over. I knew they were crucial to the plot line, and they weren't even that graphic, they were just deeply upsetting. I cringed every time Willow reached for a blade, then somehow it changed. I started to immerse myself in these scenes with a little morbid fascination, wondering how deeply someone must be hurting to physically mutilate themselves whenever things got too hard.
The one storyline that broke my heart, was the destroyed relationship between Willow and her older brother David. I could see why Willow felt that somehow he blamed her for their parents death, and how hard it was for her to be around him. But, I could also see David's reluctance to bring up details of the crash, for fear he would be hurting his sister more than she already was.
The characters were so unbelievably lifelike, that I felt Willows anguish for her brother and even understood why she acted around him the way she did. I loved how Guy was introduced into the book and that he didn't think any less of Willow because of the things she did to her body. I can see how Guy's actions could be construed as too considerate or maybe a little too caring, but I wouldn't say it's a weak character trait. In fact its something to be revered, because i'm sure the world would be a less harsh place if everyone was a little more compassionate. I think they way his character was displayed to the reader was artfully done, and yes, he does have his faults, but these faults make him the exceptional character he is.
This is a book that I could read again and again, which is something I never thought would happen based on the summary. I love the way that Hoban wove a story that deals with very serious issues about what people put themselves through to deal with pain, but also how other people can influence you, and help you see that even though what you may be doing helps your pain, what about the pain it inflicts on those you love. I know now that this book will undeniably make my top reads of 2010 and its only January. This book is outstanding.