Review: Worth the Ugly Cry
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 20, 2014
A couple of warnings, if you've not yet read these books:1. Together, this is a LONG story.  Full length novels, plus short stories on either end.  You will need time to complete them.2. YOU WILL UGLY CRY.  Not through the whole thing, but you will.3. DON'T read spoilers (I read it without knowing anything about the story, and I'm glad I did it this way).Okay.  Now that that's out of the way, let me tell you what I thought of this collection.Wait.  Scratch that, because I can't.  It sort of defies an easy description.Following Emi through these books is sort of like trying to sit at the bottom of a lake.  Despite what you want, it's tough to get where you're going.  I loved Nate, wanted him to have Emi if it would make him happy, but never understood what he would get from Emi that was so desirable.  I never got why he was so desperate to make Emi happy at all costs.It was the same with Jake.  I loved Jake - how could you not?  He was sweet and clever and understanding ... but what did he get from Emi?I'm guilty of putting myself in the heroine's shoes when I read, of imagining what I would do inside the story.  I felt as I read that I would have done things so differently from Emi in so many different places, the book would have been very different.  And maybe it's better that way - the book is beautifully written and tugs at every one of your emotions over the course of the stories.  As I said before, both Nate and Jake are wonderful heroes that would make lovely book boyfriends.I guess I just didn't much like Emi.  Maybe you will.  Maybe you will understand and appreciate her more than I did.  Maybe you'll have more sympathy for her than I did (there's no question she gets put through a LOT in this story; my biggest issue is that she takes her sorrow out on other people and they LET her).  Don't let my dislike of Emi keep you from reading.  This is one of those stories that stays with you after you've finished, and for that reason alone is worth reading.