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A review by nicolemhewitt
Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes
5.0
This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I zipped through this book in two sittings---that's how much I loved it. And then I immediately handed it to my daughter to read because I just know that she'll love it too. The story follows Maguire on her journey to conquer her fears. She suffers from PTSD because of an accident that killed her father, brother and uncle (she was the only one in the car to survive) and a later roller coaster accident that left her friends injured while she was unscathed. Because of these incidents, she feels like she's cursed---like her mere presence puts those around her in danger. She keeps herself aloof as much as possible and she develops a series of rituals that she hopes will counteract her bad luck. I think the thing that makes this book SO engaging is the fact that you can completely understand the way that Maguire feels. After all, she really has suffered from some terrifically bad luck. If I were in her shoes, I'm fairly certain I would feel the same---I would suddenly start to see danger everywhere. I mean, how could you not. And, as a reader, you spend the whole book, waiting for something bad to happen because ... well, because bad things happen to everyone and you just know that whatever it is, Maguire will blame herself.
The romance in this book is perfect---I loved that Jordy was a support system for Maguire, but he wasn't a solution to her mental illness issues. This is not a case of love cures all. He helped her work through her fears (and, sure a cute boy did give her a little extra incentive to put herself out there), but all the work was hers. It was also great that parts of the therapy sessions were included in the book---it's nice to see therapy portrayed positively. And the ending was all sorts of perfect! I ended up LOVING Paula Stokes' writing just as much as I'd hoped I would. Now I just need to read the rest of her books!!
I zipped through this book in two sittings---that's how much I loved it. And then I immediately handed it to my daughter to read because I just know that she'll love it too. The story follows Maguire on her journey to conquer her fears. She suffers from PTSD because of an accident that killed her father, brother and uncle (she was the only one in the car to survive) and a later roller coaster accident that left her friends injured while she was unscathed. Because of these incidents, she feels like she's cursed---like her mere presence puts those around her in danger. She keeps herself aloof as much as possible and she develops a series of rituals that she hopes will counteract her bad luck. I think the thing that makes this book SO engaging is the fact that you can completely understand the way that Maguire feels. After all, she really has suffered from some terrifically bad luck. If I were in her shoes, I'm fairly certain I would feel the same---I would suddenly start to see danger everywhere. I mean, how could you not. And, as a reader, you spend the whole book, waiting for something bad to happen because ... well, because bad things happen to everyone and you just know that whatever it is, Maguire will blame herself.
The romance in this book is perfect---I loved that Jordy was a support system for Maguire, but he wasn't a solution to her mental illness issues. This is not a case of love cures all. He helped her work through her fears (and, sure a cute boy did give her a little extra incentive to put herself out there), but all the work was hers. It was also great that parts of the therapy sessions were included in the book---it's nice to see therapy portrayed positively. And the ending was all sorts of perfect! I ended up LOVING Paula Stokes' writing just as much as I'd hoped I would. Now I just need to read the rest of her books!!