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A review by shelfishchar
You, with a View by Jessica Joyce
5.0
wow.
this entire book felt like an open love letter to anyone grieving. and while, yes, the obvious form of grieving this book represents is literal death, i think it's also a love letter to anyone grieving any sort of form of yourself you feel like you didn't live up to/become. it's a loving reminder that failure, or what you think failure is for yourself, does not define you. that it isn't the end-all, be-all. it was comforting in a way that hurt everywhere. i know it's easy to identify with a character and ultimately, with all my favorite books, i feel like noelle was written for me.
a gifted child who determined her gift burnt out too quickly, right after high school. a gifted child who felt raw in college with the realization they weren't as gifted as the environment around them encouraged they were. a realization that you hoped was a fluke but continued to be proven outside of college, too. but the way jessica rounds us off at the end, with a simple "it'll be okay", a mantra we've repeated in a mirror but never felt it ring true, promising ourselves maybe we'd believe it tomorrow, jessica makes me believe it will be okay. really, truly.
it's emotionally jarring reading so much of yourself in something that isn't your own writing. but i love that about books, that's what makes me love reading -- when i read a universal experience, something that feels like it's tearing me open and tweezing out every thought i've had about myself and laying it on an operating table, but it's got other people's names labeled on my insecurities, right next to my name. i feel less alone, like i'm not being buried alive. like someone's reaching out a hand, a lifeline almost. if other people are experiencing what i am, and they're still here, then i can be here too and not let it destroy me.
this review became all too personal and maybe i should've written this in my journal again but this book made me feel brave and i hope when you read it, you feel brave, too.
anyway, new comfort book. new auto-buy author. entered my top five, for sure. ugh. i cannot recommend it enough.
this entire book felt like an open love letter to anyone grieving. and while, yes, the obvious form of grieving this book represents is literal death, i think it's also a love letter to anyone grieving any sort of form of yourself you feel like you didn't live up to/become. it's a loving reminder that failure, or what you think failure is for yourself, does not define you. that it isn't the end-all, be-all. it was comforting in a way that hurt everywhere. i know it's easy to identify with a character and ultimately, with all my favorite books, i feel like noelle was written for me.
a gifted child who determined her gift burnt out too quickly, right after high school. a gifted child who felt raw in college with the realization they weren't as gifted as the environment around them encouraged they were. a realization that you hoped was a fluke but continued to be proven outside of college, too. but the way jessica rounds us off at the end, with a simple "it'll be okay", a mantra we've repeated in a mirror but never felt it ring true, promising ourselves maybe we'd believe it tomorrow, jessica makes me believe it will be okay. really, truly.
it's emotionally jarring reading so much of yourself in something that isn't your own writing. but i love that about books, that's what makes me love reading -- when i read a universal experience, something that feels like it's tearing me open and tweezing out every thought i've had about myself and laying it on an operating table, but it's got other people's names labeled on my insecurities, right next to my name. i feel less alone, like i'm not being buried alive. like someone's reaching out a hand, a lifeline almost. if other people are experiencing what i am, and they're still here, then i can be here too and not let it destroy me.
this review became all too personal and maybe i should've written this in my journal again but this book made me feel brave and i hope when you read it, you feel brave, too.
anyway, new comfort book. new auto-buy author. entered my top five, for sure. ugh. i cannot recommend it enough.