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A review by spatterson12
Love, Holly by Emily Stone
5.0
I am surprised by how much I enjoyed this.
Having recently read a book with a lying theme, I got a little nervous with this one when Holly has a few lies by omission guiding her. However, this book is incredible at issue resolution. I didn't feel trapped for a couple 100 pages waiting for an implosion, instead the author, Emily Stone, created issues and resolved them at a wonderful pace.
I clearly missed that the title "Love, Holly" was a sign off for letters, as Holly uses her writing to process her grief and loss over time – writing letters to her sister that she'll never send. It's like how I missed that "Yours Truly" was going to center around letters, even though that's clearly a sign off. Maybe I love a letter-writing trope.
Except in Gilmore Girls. If Rory could've written less letters, that would've been great.
Anyway.
I also enjoyed how this book was broken into moments in time with clear section breaks. I think it went something like December, March, June, August, and October. Noting now that this isn't a true holiday book because of these sections, so you can read this at any time. Honestly, it is a book layered with grief so it might be better to not read around the holidays if that's a difficult time.
Holly and her sister Lily are on their way to spend Christmas Eve with their parents when they make a pitstop at a small coffee shop. While there, Holly meets a man she immediately falls for. He writes his number on her cup and gifts her an artistic card before they all head out on their separate journeys. As Holly and Lily continue their drive, they start to fight about directions with Holly getting distracted by her cell phone, reducing the speed to which she can react to an oncoming car. This wreck changes their lives forever as Lily chooses to set a clear boundary between her and Holly that continues for three years, leaving Holly to feel isolated from her family.
In her grief, Holly loses interest in creating art and chooses to put physical distance between her family to take a teaching job. Her friend and coworker suggests she partakes in Dear Stranger letters where she can air her grievances and anxiety to a stranger without expectation of a response. When Holly receives a letter from a participant, she seeks the woman out and works to make her life a little easier since she feels stuck in her own predicament.
Fate plays a huge role in this story – so if you're into Serendipity, this is the one for you.
TW: Loss of child and parent; infertility; cancer
Having recently read a book with a lying theme, I got a little nervous with this one when Holly has a few lies by omission guiding her. However, this book is incredible at issue resolution. I didn't feel trapped for a couple 100 pages waiting for an implosion, instead the author, Emily Stone, created issues and resolved them at a wonderful pace.
I clearly missed that the title "Love, Holly" was a sign off for letters, as Holly uses her writing to process her grief and loss over time – writing letters to her sister that she'll never send. It's like how I missed that "Yours Truly" was going to center around letters, even though that's clearly a sign off. Maybe I love a letter-writing trope.
Except in Gilmore Girls. If Rory could've written less letters, that would've been great.
Anyway.
I also enjoyed how this book was broken into moments in time with clear section breaks. I think it went something like December, March, June, August, and October. Noting now that this isn't a true holiday book because of these sections, so you can read this at any time. Honestly, it is a book layered with grief so it might be better to not read around the holidays if that's a difficult time.
Holly and her sister Lily are on their way to spend Christmas Eve with their parents when they make a pitstop at a small coffee shop. While there, Holly meets a man she immediately falls for. He writes his number on her cup and gifts her an artistic card before they all head out on their separate journeys. As Holly and Lily continue their drive, they start to fight about directions with Holly getting distracted by her cell phone, reducing the speed to which she can react to an oncoming car. This wreck changes their lives forever as Lily chooses to set a clear boundary between her and Holly that continues for three years, leaving Holly to feel isolated from her family.
In her grief, Holly loses interest in creating art and chooses to put physical distance between her family to take a teaching job. Her friend and coworker suggests she partakes in Dear Stranger letters where she can air her grievances and anxiety to a stranger without expectation of a response. When Holly receives a letter from a participant, she seeks the woman out and works to make her life a little easier since she feels stuck in her own predicament.
Fate plays a huge role in this story – so if you're into Serendipity, this is the one for you.
TW: Loss of child and parent; infertility; cancer