Willow: It's Hard to Keep a Secret When it's Written All Over Your Body... by Julia Hoban

B&N:

Seven months after killing her parents in a car accident, 16-year-old Willow Randall has moved in with her married older brother's family in New York City, where she grapples with her overwhelming emotions, as well as her brother's silent anguish, by cutting herself with razors. When Guy, a fellow student, learns Willow's secret, they develop a tentative intimacy. The stark clarity of the present tense, third-person narration echoes the numbing effect that Willow achieves through cutting-"Of course any sharp edge could do in a pinch, and Willow has used them all: nail scissors, a steak knife, a man's razor.... But Willow is a purist." Despite explicit descriptions of Willow's wounds, the narrative steers clear of moralization-cutting is characterized as part of Willow's fractured sense of self, rather than part of a larger epidemic. Though Guy mainly serves as a means for Willow to rediscover human connection, and is never as fully realized as she is, his need to understand the girl whose favorite book is Tristes Tropiques but who carries razors in her backpack, is authentically tender. A credible depiction of a grieving girl's struggle toward self-forgiveness.

My Review:

I liked this book. I found myself needing to stay up so I could continue to read. I actually went through the entire next day, while I was supposed to be working, thinking about the book and how it was going to end. But now for the bad part....I think it would make someone not emotionally stable- or a cutter want to actually cut more...

Also... I didn't like the ending. And this is why...

****Spoilers!*****



There was like no consequence for Willow and cutting. Nothing "bad" happened to her. It didn't show anything bad happening to her (besides getting scars- which cutters don't really care about). Her brother who she lives with never finds out- and they actually start having a good relationship. She also gets the guy. The guy stays with her through her cutting- and only towards the last few pages of the book does she decide to stop...but it's not strong enough. It really doesn't show anything bad coming from her cutting.