Piper Nuelle

This goddamn tear jerker of a book I read whilst I was in hospital having a hysterectomy literally made me boo my eyes out. I have never read a book that was so much of an emotional tear jerker and emotional rollercoaster as much as this one. This book literally had me tearing up, especially at the end.

Do not read on if you don’t want spoilers…

This book is about grief and pretty much how different people experience and cope with it. The story follows one girls journey through her grief of losing her boyfriend in an accident. But, it also shows grief a little from the side of the person who passed away. How both of them cannot let one another go and how it makes neither of them able to move on or pass on.

The story shows many different forms of grief, from the denial that the main character Julie has where she tries to get rid of anything and everything she has of her boyfriend Sam to pretend to herself it will help her move on, to the rage and anger that some of his friends have and take it out on Julie. Then from bargaining that Sam seems to take the form of with the calls and telling Julie she can’t tell anyone and that one day she has to let him go and say goodbye… but in reality he can’t do the same as he is still trying to hold onto her from the other side. To depression that Sam’s family feel, poor Mika and James. It literally covers all five stages of grief but in an almost poetic way. The characters represent each stage and each have to overcome their own difficulties and grief… Even angry Taylor who gets her ass handed to her!!!

This book literally had me gripped from the first page to the last and I actually read it in pretty much one day. I tried starting it the day I had my hysterectomy but I only read one chapter because I was so sore, broken and tired. So I put it down, had a rest for the night and a good long sleep… but the next day I was feeling a lot better and more with it and found I could concentrate more and that day I read the rest of the whole book!!! It truly had me gripped.

Obviously it is a very sad book and maybe isn’t the best book to read in a moment of sadness because it will make you cry. Especially when the weather outside is drizzly and gloomy too. But if you have experienced grief you will see and understand the characteristics and emotions the characters are going through.

I had seen this book do the rounds on TikTok not so long ago but I didn’t know if it was a ‘me’ type of book, but I am so glad I bit the bullet and finally read it. It was amazing and I would recommend it. Especially to people that may wish to understand grief a bit more but also see it from other people’s perspectives.

The cover art on the book is also beautiful and depicts the theme of the story well. With the male character Sam in the dark, eyes closed and looking sad as a ghostly form of himself. Whereas the girl main character Julie is on the brighter side, cherry blossoms bloom around her, her skin looks more alive and her eyes are open yet still sad. The cherry blossoms are a connection they both have, a memory which holds them close and the floating petals have a real resemblance to a scene in the book.

This book is such a masterpiece and I have seen that there is a second one by the author… but seen as he is the author of sad stories I wonder what tragedies await the characters in this next instalment.

I hope you enjoyed my book review. Take care, xo Piper xo