Liz Emerson has it all, right? WRONG. She may seem like the typical popular mean girl but there's something more to her that nobody else sees until the very end.
Liz Emerson hates being alone.
Liz Emerson hates the things she has done.
Liz Emerson does not want to live anymore.
This book hits some heavy stuff. It may be quick to read but the author hits hard at certain points throughout the story. Liz is that type of character that you want to hate but you can't. Not because you like her but because you can relate to the things she's feeling. I think everyone can relate to the feeling of being totally and completely alone. It's a horrible feeling that most of us only have to experience in little quantities. But for Liz that's basically her whole life. Her father passed away when she was a child and her mother travels all the time for work. When Liz is alone she thinks of the things she has done and the pain she has caused other people. It's not until she's with her friends and is partying that she feels less alone. However, these coping mechanisms soon fail Liz as well. Her feelings start to consume her and that is when she decides she wants to die.
"We wonder what lies beyond.
One day, she will grow up and imagine death as an angel that will lend her wings, so she can find out."
Liz is a really interesting and complex character. She has so many layers that you want to pull back and see who she really is. Underneath all of the bad stuff she's done she really is a good person. We can see this when she protects a girl being harassed by a group of boys because she is a lesbian. Liz defends the girl and tells the boys to stay away from her. She also cares about her friends, Julia and Kennie. Julia has a drug problem and by the end of the novel Liz tries to talk her into getting help. And Liz helps Kennie when she finds out she is pregnant. Liz loves her friends but can't help but blame herself for their bad situations and the bad situations that Liz has helped other people have as well.
"Liz Emerson held so much darkness within her that closing her eyes didn't make much of a difference at all."
The thing that kind of ruined this book for me was the narrator. Throughout the book there is someone narrating the book that knows Liz and everything about her life. And the way the narrator talks is so interesting and leaves you guessing who he or she actually is. At first I was thinking that it was death (yes like in The Book Thief) but then I thought about if it could be like a sibling of Liz's that had died or even her father. But then when we found out it was just Liz's imaginary friend that was narrating I kind of was upset. In a sense Liz herself is narrating, which I suppose is kind of interesting. But honestly it was just a let down for me. The author created such a build up to that one moment where we find out who the narrator is and then when that moment finally came and we found out it was just Liz everything kind of deflated for me.
"She remembered the little girl she once was, the one who believed in magic and love and heroes, the one who held funerals for worms she found dried out on the driveway. She remembered a time when she was happy and the world was bright, and she remembered the imaginary friend she once had."
The only characters I really liked were Liz and maybe Liam Oliver. Liam wasn't that huge of character and I didn't understand how his connection to Liz was so big but I did like him. He's with Liz at the hospital the entire time she's there. Partly, because he's the one who found her after she crashed her car and partly because he's always loved her. This seemed a bit cliche to me but he was an enjoyable character. Rather than let Liz and her friends bully him and let them get to him, he rose above it and became better than all of them in the end. I really enjoyed the moment when he sees her for the first time in the hospital. I thought it was a really important moment in the book.
"'Please,' he whispers. 'Remember the sky.'"
By the end of the book we find out that Liz lives. Do we know if she will change? No. Do we know if her mother will change? No. Do we know if her friends, Julia and Kennie will change? No. We really don't know anything at all. But we do know that Liz is alive and that in end she chose to live. Honestly, I really did enjoy this book. I loved the writing and the thoughts it caused me to have, it really made me think. It was a quick and short read but it did pack a lot of emotions and feelings in its pages.
So would I recommend it? Yes. Now go read! ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment