Review: Me Since You by Laura Wiess

Me Since You by Laura Wiess

Laura Wiess captures the visceral emotion of a girl’s journey from innocence to devastating loss and, ultimately, to a strange and unexpected kind of understanding—in this beautiful and painfully honest new novel.
Are there any answers when someone you love makes a tragic choice?
Before and After. That’s how Rowan Areno sees her life now. Before: she was a normal sixteen-year-old—a little too sheltered by her police officer father and her mother. After: everything she once believed has been destroyed in the wake of a shattering tragedy, and every day is there to be survived.
If she had known, on that Friday in March when she cut school, that a random stranger’s shocking crime would have traumatic consequences, she never would have left campus. If the crime video never went viral, maybe she could have saved her mother, grandmother — and herself — from the endless replay of heartache and grief.
Finding a soul mate in Eli, a witness to the crime who is haunted by losses of his own, Rowan begins to see there is no simple, straightforward path to healing wounded hearts. Can she learn to trust, hope, and believe in happiness again?

Publishes in US: February 18th 2014 by MTV Books
Genre: Dark YA Contemp
Source: Simon via edelweiss
Series? No

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Author stalk away: ~site ~blog

 

    I wanted to read Me Since You because I have read Laura Wiess before and I liked her dark contemporary and writing style, so of course, I wanted to pick this up. Luckily it was available on Edelweiss and I was able to grab a copy. 

    Me Since You is a dark book, about a girl and boy connected by a crime and then their friendship and budding relationship deepens as they spend time together and as their pasts line up and they are able to offer understanding and a warm shoulder or hug at moments of despair. 

    The format is pretty unique because the first part switches from first person to third and is from different pov but then it goes back to first person with our narrator Rowan. 

    I like that we get glimpses of what a normal life she lived before tragedy struck her family and brought her closer to a boy that wasn't even on her radar before. 

     We get to see the cruel and thoughtless nature of not only high schoolers but also adults as the backlash spreads from the crime videos. It is hard to accept that a crime can just be tragic, people want to point fingers and assign blame, and it can get ugly. Because there are real people on the receiving end and words can be pretty darn painful. 

    The crime and the following events are very emotional, and seeing it through Rowan's eyes was hard because of all that she and Eli have on their plates and dealing with. 

    I liked their romance and that it wasn't all consuming, but that Eli let her put her grief first, but also that they deeply shared with each other. That she had a confidant in him even when her best friend didn't understand and support her like she should have. 

    I also really appreciated the real portrayal of depression and grief. That it doesn't just last two weeks and you are over it. It is lasting, and you feel a whole spectrum of emotions. It hit me on the personal level too because of the personal connection that some of you would realize right away if you've followed my blog and know my backstory. 

    The ending was powerful, real, and laced with hope and healing, but no magic cures and realistic just like the rest of the book. 

Bottom Line: Dark and emotional book with a grieving heroine.

My question to you, my lovely readers:
Have you ever been bullied online?