Yeah I didn’t realise this book was a chick lit until the missus pointed it out and I started reading. So maybe I’m not the best person to tell you about this book because it falls outside the usual stuff that I read. But that’s not a bad thing though is it? We can’t just read the books we want to read and watch the movies we want to watch and expect them to be good every time, can we? Besides, sometimes you’re up for a surprise.
Except this time, it’s not. If you’re expecting a boy meets girl, girl hooks up with boy, snatching the American Dream type of stuff, this isn’t really it. Romance? Let’s just say yeah, there’s bits and pieces of it here. Is it something completely different? Not really. If you’ve watched any Nicholas Sparks movie you’re probably gonna get the same vibes — heart-wrenching, emotional squeeze, which works for a lot of people but make me roll my eyes and shake my head.
Boy in a wheelchair paralysed neck down meets girl
Lou just lost her job after 6 years working in a coffee shop, and being an unskilled worker her choices are thin. Plus, they’re out in the middle of nowhere where the only attraction in town is a massive castle owned by some super rich that live in a mansion around the corner. The offspring of that family, Will, has just recently gone through an accident which left him quadriplegic, unable to use his limbs and requiring close to 24 hour care.
It wasn’t really what Lou was expecting in terms of a job, however. He already had a male nurse that comes around to wipe his butt and feed him. Lou is the secondary caretaker whose job was really just to keep Will company and make sure that he doesn’t do anything stupid, like kill himself. Except, that was already on the cards way before Lou took the job. He’s booked a ticket to Dignitas in Switzerland so he can off himself. The question for the rest of the story is whether Lou is able to change Will’s mind.
Important questions explored, but too bad I couldn’t care less
I don’t have too much to say about this book, even though on the surface it does raise important questions about choice. Do we allow anybody to off themselves if they really cannot live? Who has the authority to make that choice? If we see Lou as someone who’s only known Will for a few months and trying to change his mind, it makes us question whether she has the right to make that choice for Will, but hey, at least she’s trying her best.
I would probably think about this further if I had actually given a shit about any of the characters, but I really can’t. Blame me for not trying. Lou is abrasive and annoying, and even though Will thinks that there’s something special about her, she’s just plain as paper. She’s huge frenemies with her sister and blames her for a lot of things that happened in her life. Will is just a typical finance-bro who lost control of his limbs. I still detect the big dick vibes about him. I feel like everybody’s a dick in this book. I wouldn’t grab a beer with any of them.
Final thoughts? I won’t pick up the rest of the books in the sequel, or this kind of book again for a long while.
