Review: Very emotional but wonderful story!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 6, 2012
This was one of the most emotional books I have read in a long time.  It deals with so much.  First love, cancer, growing up... It was all very well woven together and felt very realistic to me.  It brought me back to my teenage years and going through my first love(s).  And so much of what Natalie goes through with Todd is very similar to what I've gone through, except without the cancer.First of all, Natalie is a pretty naive 17 year old.  Maybe naive isn't the right word, just inexperienced.  She seems to know what's going on in the world with other teens, she just hasn't experienced much romantically herself.  When Todd pays attention to her she practically basks in it.  She's desperate for something to change and to grow up a bit.  But Todd has cancer, and while this is a concern of course, it's his cavalier attitude about sex and his somewhat obsession with it that has Natalie a bit worried.  She does surprisingly well on her own, holding back his advances, but he's very persistent.  I have to say that I had a lot of mixed feelings with Todd and I actually think that's a very good thing.  I think that's what the author had in mind.  First of all, his persistent and constant sexual innuendo is grating and made me not care for him much, but as we saw that he really does care for Natalie I liked him a bit more.  And on top of that we see him suffer as Natalie brings him to treatments and stays by his side through some rough times.  I guess I could say that I pitied him.  He really had to go through a lot and he really only had Natalie.Now at the same time Natalie has gotten to know Alex, who is her locker mate and a very cute guy.  She's had some temptations and mixed feelings.  At first I was annoyed with her behavior to sort of string each guy along, but keep reading because you'll see how this gets straightened out.  It's something I didn't love, but with how much I did love the book, that was minor.Family ends up being pretty important in the story.  It's not that there's anything big, but her parents are present.  They stand by Natalie as she goes through everything.  They offer encouraging words and advice but never push her too hard to do any certain thing.  They hold her hand when she's down and really losing focus on life and they are the kind of parents that every child should have.  At the same time they weren't perfect, which made them more realistic.This book wasn't perfect, but when I finished it I realized that this was one that really makes you think, makes you feel.  And all the little things here and there that I didn't love were put on the back burner and were quite minor to me compared to how much I loved it.Also, I have to put out a warning that this is for mature YA readers.  There is sex and while it's not romance book sex, it is somewhat descriptive.