I knew when I first got this, it would be a hard one to read. The subject matter is far from fluffy bunnies and rainbows. It's a very real and very serious subject. A subject I can relate to. I've read other books or seen made for TV movies on the subject and I think this is one of the better stories out there. It isn't a story that makes Willow out to be a gothic teen with troubles that aren't really all that bad. She's not a teenage girl seeking attention and turns to cutting to get the attention of a boy/her parents/siblings or anyone else. This was not a shallow attempt at poking fun of someone with a big problem. Instead, it takes a girl who is in such turmoil, in such a dark place and she can't deal with the pain, and more importantly, the guilt.

There is growth in this book. Of both Willow and Guy. Poor Guy. He is thrusted into a place where he can't possibly fathom the idea of cutting. All he knows is that he has to protect Willow. Willow is lucky to have someone who, despite not getting it, is willing to try to help her, even when she really doesn't want help. It's a great thing to see as he slowly helps her, saves her. Even better, is when you see Willow start to allow him to sav eher.

Willow makes a remark in this book. Totally accurate. She stumbles into the bathroom, needing a secret place to give into her dark urges, to see a few girls in the bathroom smoking. She makes a remark that both are illicit habits, only one is much more acceptable. Of all the things Willow could have turned to, cutting is the one that people would look down at her in disgust. In the eyes of society, it would have been better for her to turn into a drug addict.

The one thing I wanted to see, which would have given it 5 stars, is a better resolve of her problem. Cutting isn't something you stop overnight and I wouldn't expect to see that, but what I wanted to see is Willow to go to her brother, to make the steps possible to get better. I wanted to see her go to her family and get the help she needs. Most times I wouldn't care, but since Willow and her brother were both grieving (although in different ways) over the loss of their parents, it would have helped to have gone to her brother with this in the end. That is the scene I think is missing.

~Willow, Julia Hoban

This was another book that has been receiving so many positive, glowing reviews, one almost has to approach reading it with a healthy amount of skepticism. For me, the skepticism was gone just a few pages into the book and I was swept into the story without ever looking back. I read this book in one sitting this past Sunday, pausing only to grab some dinner, which I ate while reading. I have never read a book about cutting or cutters, nor do I know any cutters in my personal life, so I was not expecting to feel so much connection to the story or the characters. In fact, I originally didn't think I wanted to read this book because I wasn't sure I cared to read about this subject matter. Little did I know...Julia Hoban's writing doesn't let you stay disconnected from the story--nor do her characters. Honestly, this book is just as amazing as the other reviews out there have portrayed it to be. The story is beautifully written and I found myself tearful (and even laughing at times) on several occasions. One of my favorite scenes (minor SPOILER ALERT--sorry!) is after Guy gives Willow his phone number, asking her to call him if she is getting ready to cut herself again. Although she never thought she would, after a particularly upsetting event with her brother, Willow calls him, unable to speak at all. But Guy knows it's her and simply stays on the line and lets her know that he's there. Guy is a big sweetheart, and while I find it hard to believe there really is a teenage guy (sorry) like him out there, you can't help but love him even if he seems a bit too good to be true.Willow really is a powerful, moving story and I'm so glad I stepped out of my normal comfort zone to read this book.

I had a very difficult time getting into this book. I don't think the subject matter was really the problem. I think it started off with the writing style. Writing in present tense can be a lot trickier to pull off for some authors, as was the case for Julia Hoba in my opinion. It just threw me off everytime she's refer to Willow doing something in present tense. I don't typically notice tense too much as long as the story flows. But when tense stands out to me, I have a really hard time moving past it.

I don't think this was a horrible story, it just wasn't for me. I didn't really feel a lot of the depth from Willow that I have from other books involving self-injury. I guess for me it was just difficult to relate to her, thus it was difficult to like her. Sure I felt bad for her, and could understand why she was so depressed, but I just didn't feel like she was a "real" person. Don't let my review discourage you from checking this story out, it just wasn't for me.

An intensely realistic and blunt tale of a girl whose past threatens to overwhelm her - so she turns to cutting herself in order to numb her mind and escape from the suffocating pain that follows her day in and day out, rushing over her like a wave. Willow struggles to keep her ugly secret to herself, nursing her grief - until Guy, with all his kind heart and book-loving tendencies, comes along and uncovers it. But far from hating her, he sticks by her side and tries to help her face the past that she's been trying to out-run.

Because sometimes in life it comes to a point where the past needs to be acknowledged...and the pain needs to be felt so the wounds can finally heal.