Review: Beautifully tragic story
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 21, 2013
In So Many Reasons Why, we meet twenty year old Emma, a college student living on her own in New York. Emma's not your average college student. After being brutally attacked at age ten, she's not left the house in years. She developed agoraphobia and continues to have nightmares about her attacker. Her relationship with her parents is strained. She does have two best friends who create a fantastic support system for her, but sometimes it's just not enough. In the first few pages of the book, Emma receives devastating news. Her attacker is on track to be paroled and will soon be out of prison, sending her into even more of a panicked state.After sending an email to gain clarification on an assignment, Emma quickly finds herself engaging in a playful back and forth email exchange with Professor Simon Anderson. They fall into an easy friendship, and eventually it's evident that they both have feelings for each other. As he's her professor, any form of relationship will be considered inappropriate, but they soon find that they can't help their undeniable attraction.As their relationship progresses, Emma continues to deal with the knowledge that her attacker is now free. Will Simon's love be enough to release Emma from her own prison, or will she be stuck there forever?*****The very first paragraph of this book had me hooked, and the rest of the story did not disappoint. This not your average Professor/Student novel. While there is an essential romantic element to the story, and Simon plays a huge role in Emma's development, this story is so much more than your average romance. To me, So Many Reasons Why is about finding your inner strength to overcome the worst of your fears. Ms. Johnson did a fantastic job of showcasing Emma's agoraphobia without making her a pitiful, weak character. Emma had a brilliant balance of strong will while still suffering from her anxiety. The e-mail exchanges between Emma and Simon were a wonderful addition to this book, and a great way for the relationship to develop realistically as Emma does not leave her home. Their chemistry was undeniable, regardless of the vast age difference. I truly enjoyed witnessing Emma find strength not only through Simon, but within herself to overcome her fears when it mattered the most. The main storyline in SMRY is wrapped up, but the ending does provide somewhat of a cliffhanger to set-up book 2. I'm anxiously looking forward to book 2 in this series.