Review: emotional and heartbreaking story of living life to the fullest
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 29, 2014
Safe to say that Shattered by Tracy Wolff shattered my emotions. It was a story of grief, heartbreaking loss, survival, inner strength, letting go of guilt, and learning to live life to the fullest.Ash is a world class snowboarder who we met in Shredded, surrounded by a supportive loving family and close circle of friends. When his parents are killed in a car accident and his brother becomes wheelchair bound, Ash loses all motivation to continue snowboarding. He blames himself for the accident because they were all on the way to see him compete. He tamps down the adrenalin junkie aspect of himself, believing that his life's purpose is now to have a safe job so he can look after his brother. His life is all about going through the motions, doing anything he can to try and push aside the grief, the pain and the fear. If that means a different girl every night to erase the pain then so be it.Tansy is a cancer survivor, on a quest to regain her independence from her illness, and is on her first assignment as a member of the Make A Wish foundation. That assignment is to organise a meet and greet with Ash with a devoted fan as well as a snowboard demo from Ash. What Tansy doesn't realise however, is that Ash does not and will not board anymore because of the reminders of his parents. Tansy also needs to grow beyond the hospital walls, to learn to know herself outside being a cancer patient.Tansy and Ash were opposites in a lot of ways and this added a lot to the relationship. Basically, Tansy comes in to Ash's world, turns it upside down, challenges him to face his memories and honor them by choosing to live life as they would have wanted, and to let go of the guilt he harbours. Ash turns Tansy's world upside down by showing her that she is a beautiful person in her own right and challenges her to live life to the fullest, come into her own and relish every experience.I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Shredded, but have to say that Shattered is my favourite so far. I really connected with these characters on a deeper level and their story captured my attention from the beginning. My heart bled for all that Ash and Tansy had been through and even though their experiences were not the same, the theory of living life to the full after tragedy and hardship is. The characters were engaging and easily relatable, their stories full of emotion and there was a lot of character growth on both sides that really kept me invested in their lives. There is heartbreak and angst, sadness and joy, tears and laughter but in the end it is a story of hope and enjoying the time you have.