Review: Raw and Wonderful
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 10, 2013
Where to begin? Let's see, it's been quite a few days since I finished Choices and it's still with me. It affected me so strongly that even just writing about it is stirring feelings within me and makes me misty eyed. I've talked to whomever I can about this book and how much it touched me.Choices really threw me for a loop. I read the synopsis and had a pretty good idea of what it was about. I figured it'd be a sweet, cute story about a girl and her choice between two boys. However, Choices was so much more than just a young/new adult story.Quincy learns a great deal about life through her experience as a college freshman. With the support of her friends she learns how much the choices we make can affect us, in a positive or negative manner. She also learns to deal with the consequences of the choices that she's made.Choices is indeed a sweet and cute story, on the surface. As I read and got caught up in Quincy's story, I began to see the different layers to who Quincy is. While this is Quincy's story, it was also someone else's, her sister's, Katie. Choices has love, betrayal, loss and a rainbow at the end of a storm. It is also a peppy story that made me laugh at some points. I loved the interactions between Quincy and her best friend.This is one book that kept me up way past my bedtime. I couldn't read fast enough. I couldn't even see the words clearly through me teary eyes. My eyes overflowed with tears as I read. If it weren't for my husband sleeping next to me, I would have cried out loud. My heart was simultaneously breaking and leaping for joy. All I could do was just stifle my cries and know that in the end, everything was going to be okay, for the most part.I don't want to give away too much of the story because it will really be unfair to you, the reader. Normally, I'd give a spoiler warning but I just can't. Not this time. If you decide to pick up Choices, you need to experience it all for yourself. I won't take that away from you.Do I recommend Choices? I absolutely do. I can tell you that you will laugh and you will certainly cry. It's more than just a coming of age story. It's a story that will truly touch your heart.