autumn_alwaysreadingseason 's review for:

Willow by Julia Hoban

4.0

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Willow's parents died in a car crash 7 months ago and she has to deal with knowing that she was the one that was driving. She blames herself and often tells people she "killed her parents." In order to deal with this, as well as having to intrude on her older brother's life to live with him, she cuts herself. The plot made sense and there was an easy progression between Willow and Guy (who finds out about her cutting). At times I didn't know whether I liked Guy or not. He was incredibly sweet but sometimes he just lashed out into these speeches telling Willow that he "had lots of things to do before." I liked the inclusion of books in Willow and her brother's lives. My favorite scene was not a love scene at all but the big conversation between Willow and her brother. This book made me tense at times and I definitely understood where Willow was coming from, even in the third person narration that isn't typical for YA. Some parts were repetitive and could've been chopped down or omitted altogether but overall it was heartbreaking and eye opening.