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A review by gabbyreads
Me Since You by Laura Wiess
5.0
Holy crap. This was one of the saddest and most depressing stories I have read all year. I wasn't prepared for the amount of sadness I would feel and tears I would cry. This story, on the surface, might seem like just another story about a teen struggling, but this is very much a story about family, and grief, and hope, and losing yourself, and finding yourself again.
Rowan is only 15 years old throughout this story, and at that age, I can't imagine going through everything she goes through. My Dad and I are best friends, and I can't imagine how awful it would be to see him go through such a horrible depression the way her Father did. Just like Rowan, I've always pictured my Father very strong and protective and would never do anything to hurt me, and so I could never imagine that idea of him changing so much, and I can see why Rowan acted out and behaved the way she did. When you're a 15 year old, you rely on your parents for support and love and if they aren't 100% there for you, I can't imagine that that must be like.
Laura Weiss has such a beautiful and realistic writing style because these characters and their feelings felt so real, like these were real life people, and that's the best aspect about this story. For a moment I wondered if this was a true story because the emotions and thoughts of the characters were so raw and felt so real. I feel like this is the perfect example of what grieving is like, and I know everyone goes through it differently, and goes through different stages at different times, but I feel like I would handle it in a very similar way as Rowan and her mother, Rachel did.
The ripple effect is truly hard to believe and something I never give much thought to, but it's so crazy. All the what ifs. The decision of a young kid to commit suicide with his infant child in hand, and Rowan's father trying to save them literally impacted so many lives. With suicide, you never really know how this is going to affect peoples lives. People only consider how it's going to affect their families, but that young boy's suicide affected the police officer who tried to save him, and sent him into a horrible depression, and that affected the police officers entire family. The ripple effect. I just find it amazing that you never really know how your decisions affect people until it's too late.
Also, Eli was an incredible character and I absolutely loved him. Not only was he understanding, but he was very likable, and when Rowan needed him most he was there, and when she needed space, he didn't judge her. Nadia, Rowan's best friend was a selfish asshole and at times in this story I really wanted to punch her in the face. She didn't understand what Rowan was going through and she never took the time to. Even before everything happened, she put her boyfriend before Rowan every single time and I can't stand girls like that. I know from my own experiences how much it sucks when your best and only friend puts her boyfriends needs and opinions ahead of yours. I loved the scenes with Eva, who was Rowan's boss at the dry cleaning store she worked at, because she was so adorable and reminded me of Betty White. Even Rowan's mother, Rachel was an extremely developed character and seeing her go through the stages of grief and loss was really moving. I have never read a story that was so honest before, and it honestly just gives me hope. I have this amazing feeling that everything will be okay, even if everything goes terribly wrong. Time and love heals almost everything.
Rowan is only 15 years old throughout this story, and at that age, I can't imagine going through everything she goes through. My Dad and I are best friends, and I can't imagine how awful it would be to see him go through such a horrible depression the way her Father did. Just like Rowan, I've always pictured my Father very strong and protective and would never do anything to hurt me, and so I could never imagine that idea of him changing so much, and I can see why Rowan acted out and behaved the way she did. When you're a 15 year old, you rely on your parents for support and love and if they aren't 100% there for you, I can't imagine that that must be like.
Laura Weiss has such a beautiful and realistic writing style because these characters and their feelings felt so real, like these were real life people, and that's the best aspect about this story. For a moment I wondered if this was a true story because the emotions and thoughts of the characters were so raw and felt so real. I feel like this is the perfect example of what grieving is like, and I know everyone goes through it differently, and goes through different stages at different times, but I feel like I would handle it in a very similar way as Rowan and her mother, Rachel did.
The ripple effect is truly hard to believe and something I never give much thought to, but it's so crazy. All the what ifs. The decision of a young kid to commit suicide with his infant child in hand, and Rowan's father trying to save them literally impacted so many lives. With suicide, you never really know how this is going to affect peoples lives. People only consider how it's going to affect their families, but that young boy's suicide affected the police officer who tried to save him, and sent him into a horrible depression, and that affected the police officers entire family. The ripple effect. I just find it amazing that you never really know how your decisions affect people until it's too late.
Also, Eli was an incredible character and I absolutely loved him. Not only was he understanding, but he was very likable, and when Rowan needed him most he was there, and when she needed space, he didn't judge her. Nadia, Rowan's best friend was a selfish asshole and at times in this story I really wanted to punch her in the face. She didn't understand what Rowan was going through and she never took the time to. Even before everything happened, she put her boyfriend before Rowan every single time and I can't stand girls like that. I know from my own experiences how much it sucks when your best and only friend puts her boyfriends needs and opinions ahead of yours. I loved the scenes with Eva, who was Rowan's boss at the dry cleaning store she worked at, because she was so adorable and reminded me of Betty White. Even Rowan's mother, Rachel was an extremely developed character and seeing her go through the stages of grief and loss was really moving. I have never read a story that was so honest before, and it honestly just gives me hope. I have this amazing feeling that everything will be okay, even if everything goes terribly wrong. Time and love heals almost everything.