Today Emily, from the book Loving Emily, is here to share her This or That list.
Salty or Sweet
Cookies or Ice Cream
Beach or Mountains
Introverted or Extroverted
Quiet guy or Loud guy
Cats or Dogs
Party animal or Book worm
Change or Routine
Date night at home or Date night out
TV or Movies
Loving Emily by Anne Pfeffer Published: October 2011 Paperback: 278 pages Reading Level: Young Adult Ryan Mills is torn with guilt over the death of his best friend, and it's all because of Emily Wintraub. If Ryan hadn't seen those incredible gray-blue eyes, hadn't pegged her as a Potentially Amazing Woman, he would never have gone looking for her at the party that night. He would never have left his wasted friend Michael alone, when Michael needed him and asked him to stay. And if Ryan hadn't left, Michael would never have driven off, totaled his car, and taken the cosmic rocket ride into death.
As far as Ryan's concerned, when you’ve done something terrible, you don’t deserve to be happy. He tries not to fall for Emily, but he can't help it. Before long, he is"completely, gonzo, out-of-control in love."
Ryan then learns that Michael died with a secret. Still grieving, he feels compelled to take on his friend's unfinished business. When Emily begins to question where his commitments really lie—with her or with Michael’s memory—Ryan is forced to examine his choices. What does he owe to Michael, to Emily, and to himself?
Loving Emily by Anne Pfeffer Published: October 2011 Paperback: 278 pages Reading Level: Young Adult Source: Purchased Rating: 4 of 5 stars Ryan Mills is torn with guilt over the death of his best friend, and it's all because of Emily Wintraub. If Ryan hadn't seen those incredible gray-blue eyes, hadn't pegged her as a Potentially Amazing Woman, he would never have gone looking for her at the party that night. He would never have left his wasted friend Michael alone, when Michael needed him and asked him to stay. And if Ryan hadn't left, Michael would never have driven off, totaled his car, and taken the cosmic rocket ride into death.
As far as Ryan's concerned, when you’ve done something terrible, you don’t deserve to be happy. He tries not to fall for Emily, but he can't help it. Before long, he is"completely, gonzo, out-of-control in love."
Ryan then learns that Michael died with a secret. Still grieving, he feels compelled to take on his friend's unfinished business. When Emily begins to question where his commitments really lie—with her or with Michael’s memory—Ryan is forced to examine his choices. What does he owe to Michael, to Emily, and to himself?
Review:
Although Loving Emily does focus heavily on a serious topic, this is a cute book in a lot of ways. When we first meet Ryan he is trying to deal with a long-time crush on Emily, and the devastating habits of his friend Michael. I immediately felt bad for Ryan because he was faced with the decision to let Michael's actions alter his plan to talk to Emily. The consequences of his choice will haunt him and be something he can't seem to get over.
Michael's death hits Ryan hard, obviously. He can't shake the feeling that he shouldn't have walked away. It doesn't help that Michael seemed to have something he wanted to share with Ryan. For a while Ryan seems to just float from day to day. He spends time with Emily but holds back from really telling her how he feels. Ryan's relationship with Emily was sweet and romantic. It wasn't all"hot and heavy" from the beginning like some stories. They really seemed to slowly build upon their connection with each other.
Loving Emily doesn't just give us a sweet romance between 2 characters, we really get a good idea of Ryan's life. He has a life that may seem perfect from the outside but he doesn't have the best relationship with his parents, especially his mother. Even though Michael dies early in the story, Ryan shows us how their friendship developed and it was easy to see why Ryan thought so highly of his friend. This was what really seemed cute to me. His accounts of the childhood events he shared with Michael really helped me see how they were just two little boys trying to figure out life.
I won't give away what the secret is but it really puts a whole new spin on this story. At the same time, it made me dislike Emily in a lot of ways. She didn't seem to really grasp what Ryan was going through or why he was so focused on his"task". I thought her actions, while mostly realistic for a teenage girl, made her just seem selfish and uncaring. I'm a hopeless romantic but there were times where I thought that maybe she wasn't even needed in order to have a super strong story. Maybe it should have just been Ryan's journey to make peace with himself.
On the plus side, I adored Ryan's point-of-view and I honestly didn't want to put the book down. I felt very invested in the story and finding out what Ryan would do in his situation. It was gripping, heartbreaking, and realistic.
Loving Emily is honestly a beautiful story. It's so much more than a romance and, even though it deals with a serious topic, it wasn't dark and depressing. A very enjoyable read.
Recommended: People wanting a realistic teen read dealing with death.
I had starred this post awhile ago — like in April at Good Books and Good Wine and have been meaning to put together a post. I can now cross this off my endless To Do list!
I did okay (read 24/100) — but I'd like to have done much better. I look forward to reevaluating where I stand later on in the year!
Read On my TBR List
100. Hate List by Jennifer Brown 99. Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix 98. A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly 97. Among The Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix 96. Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Claus 95. Forever by Judy Blume 94. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale 93. Tithe by Holly Black 92. Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott 91. Wings by Aprillynne Pike 90. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green 89. Angus, Thongs And Full Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison 88. Marked by PC And Kristin Cast 87. Maximum Ride series by James Patterson 86. The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky 85. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson 84. I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak 83. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli 82. The Mediator series by Meg Cabot 81. The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen 80. Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin 79. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 78. Along For The Ride by Sarah Dessen 77. Evernight by Claudia Gray 76. If I Stay by Gayle Foreman 75. Life As We Knew It series by Susan Beth Pfeffer 74. Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston 73. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa 72. Alana: The First Adventure series by Tamora Pierce 71. Stardust by Neil Gaiman 70. Unwind by Neil Shusterman 69. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech 68. Paper Towns by John Green 67. Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles 66. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith 65. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli 64. The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time by Mark Haddon 63. The Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell 62. Blue Bloods series by Melissa De La Cruz 61. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous 60. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie 59. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt 58. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen 57. Eragon by Christopher Paoloni 56. Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine 55. The Vampire Diaries by LJ Smith 54. Fallen by Lauren Kate 53. The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett 52. The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot 51. Inkheart series by Cornelia Funke 50. Number The Stars by Lois Lowry 49. Lord Of The Flies by William Golding 48. The Maze Runner by James Dashner 47. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares 46. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver 45. The Summoning series by Kelley Armstrong 44. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher 43. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson 42. Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card 41. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones 40. Wake series by Lisa McMann 39. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman 38. Are You There God? It's Me Margaret by Judy Blume 37. Looking For Alaska by John Green 36. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett 35. A Great And Terrible Beauty series by Libba Bray 34. His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pullman 33. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 32. Romeo And Juliet by William Shakespeare 31. The Dark Divine by Bree Despain 30. Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr 29. Forest of Hands And Teeth by Carrie Ryan 28. Holes by Louis Sacher 27. The Outsiders by SE Hinton 26. The Catcher In The Rye by JD Salinger 25. The Princess Bride by William Goldman 24. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson 23. The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank 22. Uglies series by Scott Westerfield 21. Beautiful Creatures by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia 20. Poison Study series by Maria V. Snyder 19. Book Thief by Markus Zusak 18. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carlson Levine 17. Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead 16. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick 15. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 14. Anne of Green Gables series by LM Montgomery 13. The Giver by Lois Lowry 12. The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare 11. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater 10. Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis 9. A Wrinkle In Time series by Madeline L'engle 8. Graceling series by Kristin Cashore 7. Percy Jackson And The Olympians by Rick Riordan 6. Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan 5. Pride And Prejudice by Jane Austen 4. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee 3. Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer 2. Harry Potter series by JK Rowling 1. The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
