Ruin

W-O-W!  I haven’t cried this hard or long at a book since… I don’t know… maybe when Dobby died. 

I knew from the first few lines I read of this book that it would be good.  But I also knew it would make me cry.  I think I wouldn’t have had the courage to read it at all if it hadn’t been for the title of one of the Amazon reviews… it read “I was sure he was going to die.”  I didn’t read any more than that.  It could have been taken either way and I guess that’s what I wanted.  I wanted to know that there was a chance he could live without knowing for certain.  

To really review this book I’m going to have to give the ending away (usually that doesn't bother me, but in this instance it does), so I ask that if you have any desire to read a true love story STOP RIGHT HERE -  go read the book and then come back.  I don’t want to spoil it for you.  There’s nothing paranormal about this; this is real…. Go read it! 

Now to get back to the review – It’s not every day that a story can reach in and take hold of your heart the way this one does.  I honestly cried, tears streaming down my face, through the last third of the book.  I didn’t know if it would end happy or sad, but it was so touching and moving I cried anyway.  But with all that said I don’t think that was the best part of the book (that it was touching and real).  I think it was the message:  Life is hard.  Life isn’t fair.  But you have to keep fighting because there are things in it that make it worth the fight.  And miracles do happen.

I wouldn’t claim this as a “Christian” book at all, but the message is clear:  Love changes things and faith changes them even more.  In the end, it was both, love and faith, that saved Wes.  Wes and Kiersten’s love made the move toward faith possible.  And I think it was when Gabe, Wes, and Kiersten prayed, not even for themselves but for each other, that God stepped in and the miraculous happened.  

Rachel Van Dyken has my utmost respect in so many ways.  This book gripped my heart, it was so full of wisdom… (I think I spent half my reading time highlighting passages I want to go back to) and yet I never felt preached at, of course, that could just be that the things she was “preaching” are so true, and vital to life.  Angela was a beautiful touch… not often do you get a glimpse of your guardian angel.  

My respect for her is not just because of the wisdom she imparts, she is also an amazing writer in that she was able to switch POV with each chapter without it getting confusing.  Wes and Kiersten had very different internal voices so it worked.  And it made the story work because you knew what each was thinking, which was very important… especially in the beginning as they got to know each other.

If you read all this and still didn’t go read the book, even though you now know the ending, you should definitely read it anyway.  Amazing story of true love, faith, and what a gift life is.