Thursday, September 13, 2012

If I Lie - Corrine Jackson

Synopsis: Quinn’s done the unthinkable: she kissed a guy who is not Carey, her boyfriend. And she got caught. Being branded a cheater would be bad enough, but Quinn is deemed a traitor, and shunned by all of her friends. Because Carey’s not just any guy—he’s serving in Afghanistan and revered by everyone in their small, military town.
Quinn could clear her name, but that would mean revealing secrets that she’s vowed to keep—secrets that aren’t hers to share. And when Carey goes MIA, Quinn must decide how far she’ll go to protect her boyfriend…and her promise. (From Goodreads)

Quick personal side note before I jump into the awe I have for this book. I just moved to New York (scary!) and this was the first book I bought here. At The Strand. Which, for me, is kind of monumental. So this book is extra special and definitely one I'm going to hold on to for a long time.

Even better, this book is absolutely....you know what, I don't have the words. I could say it's heartbreaking, it's beautiful, it's real - but that's not really doing it justice. It's the kind of book that lodges itself inside your mind and changes the way you view things.

I think I have an understanding that soldiers go through something wicked and they suffer emotional and physical truamas. Even if it's not something I can know because I haven't gone through it, I'm aware of their pain. And I've always had the family memebers and loved ones of soldiers in my mind, but I guess I never completely considered what it's like on a day to day basis for those left behind.

What Quinn goes through is so painful. Every single day is like recieving a fresh wound. She's holding on to secrets, she's making sacrifices, and she suffers for it.  She's completely alone, but on top of that she's persecuted. She's not allowed to worry about Carey, or miss him even, in public. Even the people who know better have turned away from her. From the beginning you know the secrets she's keeping and I just kind of wanted to scream at everyone, but those secrets get lodged in your throat the same way they are hidden safely away in Quinn.

The way this story weaves from the past to the present was flawless and added a reflective quality to the story. The slow way the past is revealed deepens Quinns pain. There's also this really great circle effect happening with Carey, who's missing, and Georoge, the ailing veteran who's near death. Quinn helps George in collecting veteran's stories and this becomes her way of coping and staying in the world. But between these two characters, the past and the present are always together. Corrine Jackson brilliantly demonstrates how everyone's stories and lives build off of one another, and the past is truly a layered entity.

I cry pretty easily, but by the end I was reduced to painful sobbing. It was hard to read, but it was also difficult to tear myself away. I also want to applaud Corrine Jackson for the way she handles Quinns relationship with Blake. I won't go into specifics there, but the way that relationship turns out was just perfect. This book was just so absolutely stunning, it's one I wish everyone would read.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

If I Lie - Corrine Jackson

Synopsis: Quinn’s done the unthinkable: she kissed a guy who is not Carey, her boyfriend. And she got caught. Being branded a cheater would be bad enough, but Quinn is deemed a traitor, and shunned by all of her friends. Because Carey’s not just any guy—he’s serving in Afghanistan and revered by everyone in their small, military town.
Quinn could clear her name, but that would mean revealing secrets that she’s vowed to keep—secrets that aren’t hers to share. And when Carey goes MIA, Quinn must decide how far she’ll go to protect her boyfriend…and her promise. (From Goodreads)

Quick personal side note before I jump into the awe I have for this book. I just moved to New York (scary!) and this was the first book I bought here. At The Strand. Which, for me, is kind of monumental. So this book is extra special and definitely one I'm going to hold on to for a long time.

Even better, this book is absolutely....you know what, I don't have the words. I could say it's heartbreaking, it's beautiful, it's real - but that's not really doing it justice. It's the kind of book that lodges itself inside your mind and changes the way you view things.

I think I have an understanding that soldiers go through something wicked and they suffer emotional and physical truamas. Even if it's not something I can know because I haven't gone through it, I'm aware of their pain. And I've always had the family memebers and loved ones of soldiers in my mind, but I guess I never completely considered what it's like on a day to day basis for those left behind.

What Quinn goes through is so painful. Every single day is like recieving a fresh wound. She's holding on to secrets, she's making sacrifices, and she suffers for it.  She's completely alone, but on top of that she's persecuted. She's not allowed to worry about Carey, or miss him even, in public. Even the people who know better have turned away from her. From the beginning you know the secrets she's keeping and I just kind of wanted to scream at everyone, but those secrets get lodged in your throat the same way they are hidden safely away in Quinn.

The way this story weaves from the past to the present was flawless and added a reflective quality to the story. The slow way the past is revealed deepens Quinns pain. There's also this really great circle effect happening with Carey, who's missing, and Georoge, the ailing veteran who's near death. Quinn helps George in collecting veteran's stories and this becomes her way of coping and staying in the world. But between these two characters, the past and the present are always together. Corrine Jackson brilliantly demonstrates how everyone's stories and lives build off of one another, and the past is truly a layered entity.

I cry pretty easily, but by the end I was reduced to painful sobbing. It was hard to read, but it was also difficult to tear myself away. I also want to applaud Corrine Jackson for the way she handles Quinns relationship with Blake. I won't go into specifics there, but the way that relationship turns out was just perfect. This book was just so absolutely stunning, it's one I wish everyone would read.