KEEP CALM AND LOVE BOOKS: Mental Illness

Pages: 369 pages

Publication Date: December 31st 2012

Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books/Viking

ISBN: 0670026603 (ISBN13: 9780670026609)

Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.

Now, What I Thought:

I had just finished this book minutes ago and I am left here sobbing my eyes out because of how beautiful this story was. Now, obviously with everyone's hype for this book and the description of it, you automatically think this is going to be a sad book. I'd say that this book was 95% happy, it was warm and fun and I felt like I was physically in the book with Lou and Will myself. There is a movie adaptation that is coming out soon, which I think the actors that play Lou, Will and Patrick are amazingly well casted.

Warning: DO NOT WATCH THE TRAILER IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THIS BOOK.

It will spoil you, I didn't have the common sense to not watch it before I even opened the book to page 1, and I did find it spoil me a bit, where I would get to a part in the novel and I would remember what happened in the trailer and I'd realize what would happen next. I really wished I had left those parts for surprise you know?

Lou's family played a huge role in this book, I liked how involved they were and how we actually get to see them a lot and even Patrick. I loved to hate Patrick too, he really was just there as another obstacle for Lou to climb over. This whole novel was for Lou to find herself and grow up and live HER life. She's a 27 year old living at home asking her parents permission to do things. She needed to finally grow up and explore the world on her own and live the life she wanted to live. I didn't really like her sister, even with her P.O.V chapter. I still didn't like how inferior she made Lou feel at times and even when Treen would think and we got to read that, I just did not like her selfish thought process and how she thought she was better than everyone.

The relationship between Lou and Will, I don't even have to really say, was magninicifent! It started off rocky and Will would mock everything she'd say or do while she'd just get frustrated. But they finally found a balance between themselves and Will started living more of his life. I liked reading Will being happy, because it would just remind me of his life now and how it seemed like he hadn't smiled in a long time and truly enjoy his time with her and outside in general. There are so many rememberable scenes between the two that it just made this book so great and I can't express the amount of happiness that flowed through me while reading it.

This book will always been on my top favourites because it was just so emotional and life changing in a way. We really get to read about other people's lives and how just a moment in time can change someone's life forever. Jojo Moyes has a really great writing style and I look forward to reading more of her stuff very soon.

Adult Fiction - 10:38:00 PM

Me Before You (Me Before You #1) by Jojo Moyes | Review

Pages: 369 pages Publication Date: December 31st 2012 Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books/Viking ISBN: 0670026603 (ISBN13: 9780670...

Pages: 340 pages

Publication Date: October 13th 2015 by Doubleday Canada

ISBN: 0385684754 (ISBN13: 9780385684750)

Riley Vasquez is haunted by the brutal murder of the couple she was babysitting for.

Max Cross is suffering under the shadow of a life-altering diagnosis he doesn’t dare reveal.

The last thing either of them wants is to spend a weekend away at a therapy camp alongside five other teens with “issues.” But that’s exactly where they are when three masked men burst in to take the group hostage.

The building has no windows. The exits are sealed shut. Their phones are gone. And their captors are on a killing spree.

Riley and Max know that if they can’t get out, they’ll be next—but they’re about to discover that even escape doesn’t equal freedom.

Now, What I Thought:

Kelley Armstrong is considered one of my favourite authors. She is a wonderfully creative and well written author who writes the best paranormal fiction novel. I was a bit surprised when I saw this stand alone book in the book store because I was definitely not expecting that from Armstrong. So I was pretty skeptical considering this is categorized as a 'Mystery Thriller' and 'Mental Illness'. I decided to give it a go.. and lets just say, once again I have not been disappointed by her writing.

From the beginning of the book, where Riley is walking towards the house she's babysitting for and bumps into the man and fully sees the gun but doesn't think anything of it, I knew this was going to be a hell of a ride. Long story short, the couple is murdered and Riley acted quick and hid the child and herself under the bed upstairs to keep safe. She is deemed a hero in society, but obviously, having gone through what she went through, doesn't see herself as such and actually is some what ashamed of how weak she was. It was a traumatizing experience and I just loved how the scene was described. She then gets sent to this closed off weekend getaway for some therapy with other teens going through their own shit. That just sucks. Not like anything can go worse for her right? Wrong. This girl has the WORST luck in the world because then men come in with guns trying to get ransom money for one of the patients there. She meets a boy, of course, but its not sappy or anything.

Amongst all of this killing spree drama, we get to learn about Max and his mental illness. It was very interesting learning about him and reading through his point of view. It reminded me of Mara Dyer and how we can never trust her point of view. Same thing happens here, and we don't really know what he's seeing is true or if it's the illness. I loved Max. He was definitely a highlight of the book. One thing that did shock me was how easily Armstrong killed of characters. I was not expecting so many to go in practically the beginning-middle of the book. Im not complaining but it was definitely shocking because who knew if Max or even Riley will make it by the end of this thriller? After all, like the description says, their captors are on a killing spree ;). This was definitely a mystery thriller type book and I loved it a lot! Also, not one part was slow or the least bit boring. AND, can we just say, W O W to that cover..