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A review by ccochard46
The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo
4.0
Ugh, it hurts me to have to lower this book to four stars, because a few years ago it was my favorite chick-lit/romance book of all time and I would never dream of taking a star away. In fact, I bet I wished I could have given it 10 stars at the time.
This book hurt me in ways that I didn't know a book could.
This book is what is responsible for getting me back into reading again, and I will forever be grateful for that and give it that title.
However...
After reading another book recently (*cough-cough* Out of Love by Hazel Hayes *cough-cough*), I had to come back to reality with this one and demote it from my all-time-favorites shelf because learning comes with time, and this one has changed for me with further cultural education.
First off, I didn't really consider at the time how offensive it might seem that this book starts a love story during one of the most traumatic, violent, horrifying moments in America's history. Probably not a great time to make out from another building while the World Trade Center is turning to ash and innocent people are dying, and I'm not sure how I overlooked this at the time.
I also struggle with this book because I still do love it, but I worry that their romance is promoting toxic, dangerous love. I can't really think of a moment where I felt that their relationship was stable and healthy and growing together, and I felt like Gabe was incredibly selfish while Lucy was almost too selfless. I even used to find myself routing for them to be together in the end when subconsciously I knew that it really wasn't the relationship to route for. Although, if looked at from a different perspective, this can also be a book that could be a good example of what love shouldn't be like... if you know how to recognize that in a connection. There's a difference between passionate (and oftentimes toxic) love and compassionate (built to last but often "boring") love, and they definitely didn't have the latter of the two.
However, I still absolutely ADORE the point of view for this book. Using second-person to really get the readers fully enveloped and invested in such an intense story was reason #1 why this book was at the very top of my list. It was a narrative that I had never seen before, and one that pulled at my heartstrings completely and still does. It is what I aspire to write within someday when I'm able to figure it out myself.
I also loved the way this book moved at such a fast pace that I kept wanting to read to find out more. I wanted to know what we were leading to, and I never felt bored with their story. It's so easy for me to become bored of a book and lose interest and I was so relieved to be so invested in a book again. I just hope all readers take this book with a grain of salt, and keep a good head on their shoulders.
This book hurt me in ways that I didn't know a book could.
This book is what is responsible for getting me back into reading again, and I will forever be grateful for that and give it that title.
However...
After reading another book recently (*cough-cough* Out of Love by Hazel Hayes *cough-cough*), I had to come back to reality with this one and demote it from my all-time-favorites shelf because learning comes with time, and this one has changed for me with further cultural education.
First off, I didn't really consider at the time how offensive it might seem that this book starts a love story during one of the most traumatic, violent, horrifying moments in America's history. Probably not a great time to make out from another building while the World Trade Center is turning to ash and innocent people are dying, and I'm not sure how I overlooked this at the time.
I also struggle with this book because I still do love it, but I worry that their romance is promoting toxic, dangerous love. I can't really think of a moment where I felt that their relationship was stable and healthy and growing together, and I felt like Gabe was incredibly selfish while Lucy was almost too selfless. I even used to find myself routing for them to be together in the end when subconsciously I knew that it really wasn't the relationship to route for. Although, if looked at from a different perspective, this can also be a book that could be a good example of what love shouldn't be like... if you know how to recognize that in a connection. There's a difference between passionate (and oftentimes toxic) love and compassionate (built to last but often "boring") love, and they definitely didn't have the latter of the two.
However, I still absolutely ADORE the point of view for this book. Using second-person to really get the readers fully enveloped and invested in such an intense story was reason #1 why this book was at the very top of my list. It was a narrative that I had never seen before, and one that pulled at my heartstrings completely and still does. It is what I aspire to write within someday when I'm able to figure it out myself.
I also loved the way this book moved at such a fast pace that I kept wanting to read to find out more. I wanted to know what we were leading to, and I never felt bored with their story. It's so easy for me to become bored of a book and lose interest and I was so relieved to be so invested in a book again. I just hope all readers take this book with a grain of salt, and keep a good head on their shoulders.