Review- Me Since You by Laura Wiess

*This is an early review of Me Since You by Laura Wiess. 

Goodreads Summary: 

Laura Wiess captures the visceral emotion of a girl’s journey from innocence to devastating loss and, ultimately, to a strange and unexpected kind of understanding—in this beautiful and painfully honest new novel.

Are there any answers when someone you love makes a tragic choice?

Before and After. That’s how Rowan Areno sees her life now. Before: she was a normal sixteen-year-old—a little too sheltered by her police officer father and her mother. After: everything she once believed has been destroyed in the wake of a shattering tragedy, and every day is there to be survived.

If she had known, on that Friday in March when she cut school, that a random stranger’s shocking crime would have traumatic consequences, she never would have left campus. If the crime video never went viral, maybe she could have saved her mother, grandmother — and herself — from the endless replay of heartache and grief.

Finding a soul mate in Eli, a witness to the crime who is haunted by losses of his own, Rowan begins to see there is no simple, straightforward path to healing wounded hearts. Can she learn to trust, hope, and believe in happiness again?

REVIEW:

*NOTE: We (The Readdicts) received a copy of Me Since You by Laura Wiess upon request from Net Galley. We thank them for the book! 

I was eagerly awaiting Me Since You as it sounded really messed up and beautiful. This book turned out to be exactly the way it sounded and there's really nothing better a reader can ask for, besides of course, being accepted to read an e-arc of an anticipated release. Everything about Me Since You was terribly depressing, sad and messed up in the most beautiful way imaginable. 

The summary of the book tells the reader the story and it's pretty easy to figure out where it goes from there. What it doesn't prepare the reader for, however, is the huge impact it has the potential of having on the reader. In Me Since You, we read from the protagonist Rowan's point of view in the first person, but honestly, as a reader, I found myself connecting to each and every character, and understanding what they're going through with their mental and emotional states. It seemed like a third person point of view flowed flawlessly in first person which turned out to be a beautiful narrative. It was, in a way, very astonishingly beautiful. It's hard to know what's going on with everyone personally when it comes to books written in first person but this book made that possible and author Laura Wiess' beautiful writing technique and deep and intense storyline deserve all the credit for that.

Rowan is a sixteen year old and, albeit a fun lover and rule breaker, she was very mature and understanding and that's what makes me not just like, but also admire and respect a character. Her mom and dad were great people and it was devastating to see her dad do what he did, but at the same time, I feel that I understand why he did it and it was horribly depressing but extremely nice to see Rowan and her mom get through everything slowly and steadily. Her grandparents were warm and sweet people who added a lot of fun and depth to the story. Rowan and boyfriend Eli share a very vague but absolutely beautiful connect and it was beautiful to read about.

I cannot express how much I loved the importance given to pets in Me Since You, whether they were to make a situation more happy or sad doesn't really matter because in the end of the day, pets are true friends and that's me the dog lover talking so I completely understand and appreciate the point being taken up. This book was just what I needed and I'll take anything along similar lines any day. Me Since You was emotional, deep, intense, depressing and thoroughly beautiful- just the it promises to be and just way I like my stories to be.  

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