Aysha's Reviews > Say What You Will

The very first thing I'd like to point out in this review is that: this is NOT like the Fault in Our Stars. This is NOT like Eleanor and Park. This is NOT a story about 2 kids with cancer who fall in love and then they die and then they mourn and whatever. No. It's not even close to that. Say What You Will takes TFIOS and stomps on it, in fact it trumps it on so many levels I don't know why I'm spending so much time trying to convince you that this book is unique. It is. You'll know from the very first page, actually, from the synopsis alone, that this book is not what you expect it to be. Cammie McGovern did a very good job at releasing a debut novel that absolutely took my breath away. Of course I say this with no exaggeration at all, because books like these are the absolute epitome of YA contemporary and all its glory.

The rawness, the reality, of this book is so true and so deep that it cuts you straight to the core. You're allowed into the mindset of Matthew who almost severely has OCD and it's nothing I've ever read before, he's worried about things a million times more than what any other person would be worried about, he's all over the place and at the same time he's not. I related to him on the basis of constant excessive worrying and you truly feel the realism this character has in the story. He has great friendship with Amy that you could just see blossom and bloom and he was so unbelievably frank about most things with her and whenever he held back it just makes you genuinely upset that he didn't tell Amy that ONE THING HE SHOULD'VE TOLD HER!!!! Okay, let me calm down for a bit...

[5 minutes later] I'm fine. I can continue this review. The thing I loved about this book was that it took its time for the relationship/love to develop, from the very beginning you fall for their sweet friendship and the way Amy and Matthew just naturally communicated, it was wonderful. The thing about Amy was that you never felt like she had cerebral palsy because her thoughts were that of any normal teenage girl and I really felt like McGovern did her research because honestly everything was so accurately described I loved it. Amy had her faults as any human being should have and I felt like this is what made the book so enjoyable for me and so utterly painful to read about 65% of the time. This book was so heartwarming and surprising and I love a book that surprises me. The one thing that I might've really disliked about it was the abrupt ending, maybe because I was so engrossed in the story that I expected more but other than that I enjoyed this. A lot. I can't wait to read more of Cammie's YA-based books because this one sold me.

P.S: if you're looking for a book with this long lasting impression & a lot of inspirational stuff that kind of just sticks with you and I don't mean the self-help book kind of inspirational I mean the kind that just takes your heart and fills it with good quotes and fluffy moments. Then read this. Read it.