John Green's The Fault in Our Stars meets Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor & Park in this beautifully written, incredibly honest, and emotionally poignant novel. Cammie McGovern's insightful young adult debut is a heartfelt and heartbreaking story about how we can all feel lost until we find someone who loves us because of our faults, not in spite of them.
Born with cerebral palsy, Amy can't walk without a walker, talk without a voice box, or even fully control her facial expressions. Plagued by obsessive-compulsive disorder, Matthew is consumed with repeated thoughts, neurotic rituals, and crippling fear. Both in desperate need of someone to help them reach out to the world, Amy and Matthew are more alike than either ever realized.
When Amy decides to hire student aides to help her in her senior year at Coral Hills High School, these two teens are thrust into each other's lives. As they begin to spend time with each other, what started as a blossoming friendship eventually grows into something neither expected.
My Review:
I read this book in one day. It is not your typical YA book. Amy is not your typical heroine nor Mathew your hero. Amy has cerebral palsy and can't walk without a walker, talk without her computer doing it for her, control her limbs or facial expressions. Matthew feels like he doesn't have OCD but he does, and he is more ruled by it then he thinks. These two's lives run into each other when Amy asks Matthew to apply for the peer assistant. Helping her at school between classes and at lunch. Amy has never really had friends so she wants to do this before she ventures to college. I was very moved by Amy's story. She is a girl in a situation that people don't normally think about. She is so strong despite all the obstacles in her life. I can't imagine having a perfect mind with a body that won't listen to you and still being as positive as she is. Her and Matthew work through some of the hardest things life can throw at you. Will their relationship ever be more then friends? Will either of them say anything to each other about it?
Matthew is a very different then your normal guy. He is not popular or super hot. He isn't an athlete. He is an average guy who is fighting with internal demons. Amy changes his life. The job he wasn't sure he could do has turned him into a different person and helps him conquer some of those demons. Amy did for him what he couldn't do for himself.
Like I said earlier, Amy is a very strong individual. She doesn't let her disability stop her. She is extremely smart. Yes, things get very frustrating for her. She can't show expression on her face and her technology that talks for her doesn't show that all the time either. Public speaking was not an easy class for her. Yet she is able to do amazing things. It really makes you think about what she does vs. what some people choose not to do. Your life really isn't that bad is it? She makes it through high school with many of the same experiences you and I have just in a slightly different way. A lot of that because of Matthew. The first semester at college proves to be very difficult for Amy. She is questioning everything and alone all the time. All she wants is friends. I found myself crying a few times during this part. I think we all know what it feels like to be alone. For Amy, it is just more powerful. Especially given the circumstances she is currently in. She made a mistake and now has to survive the consequences. Will she have to do this alone too?
I loved this book. It is a real eye opener. It makes you second guess your life. It makes you appreciate the friends that you do have. I am not sure either Matthew or Amy would have been happy without each other. There isn't a lot of romance in this one which was ok. What little their was fit perfectly. The author did an amazing job writing this book. I highly recommend this one guys!
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