“Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.” -Lemony Snicket
Rating: 9.5/10"The heart has its reasons, of which reason knows nothing: we know this in countless ways." -Blaise Pascal "Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. No man has learned anything rightly, until he knows that every day is Doomsday." "One of those things you grow up hearing all the time, so it doesn't really mean much. Until later, when it does." "Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back." —Plato "For no other instrument performs such continuous, hard work as the heart . . . enlarging when it desires to attract what is useful, clasping its contents when it is time to enjoy what has been attracted, and contracting when it desires to expel residues." "It does not rest. It does not tire. It is persistent in its drive and purpose.” "There is no instinct like that of the heart." —Lord Byron “Occasionally in life there are those moments of unutterable fulfillment which cannot be completely explained by those symbols called words. Their meanings can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart.” —Martin Luther King Jr “There are moments in life, when the heart is so full of emotion that if by chance it be shaken, or into its depths like a pebble drops some careless word, it overflows, and its secret, spilt on the ground like water, can never be gathered together.” —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “The Courtship of Miles Standish” | Let me just say before doing anything else that this book is beautifully brilliant. I cried more than a little bit at the end. But that's actually no real indication of if a book is cry-worthy because I pretty much will cry at anything when I'm reading alone in my room at night. But before I gush even more, I'll give you that brief summary. Quinn lost her boyfriend Trent and his organs were donated to various people who were in desperate need. She sent letters to and heard back from four of the five to seek closure but there was no word from the heart recipient. So she tracked him down, not expecting or wanting anything more than to just see him. But like many things in life, that didn't go to plan and Colton and Quinn fell into a comfortable rhythm, falling deeper and deeper. Finally, Colton finds out Quinn knew all about him before they even met and he's hurt, first mentally then physically. I can't get enough of this book. While I think it was a great length, I also wish it would have gone on forever. It was just one of those books. One of my favorite parts wasn't part of the story. Each chapter began with a quote about the heart of bit of information about hearts. But I'm a sucker for a good quote. There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart. Pursue those. —Michael Nolan And it wasn't just the chapter quotes that were perfect. Throughout Jessi Kirby threw out gem after gem whether it be something Colton said or his father or just narration. The worst thing that’ll happen is you’ll fall in love. It's like they're connected from the start, and not just because of Colton's heart. The heart senses Quinn and draws them together. It's just little things like Colton bringing Quinn a sunflower when he sees her, just like Trent did when he first met her, that made the story of these two so sweet. And then there's the concept of "little victories." it's not only a great idea to incorporate into a storyline, but it's really something to live by in your own life as well. Take each day as it's own and don't worry about what will happen in the future because for this moment, you only have the now. Quinn and Colton really helped each other. They needed each other. And they helped each other heal in more ways than they once thought. "You can't be sorry for something you had no control over." When Quinn first said this to Colton she knew more about him than he realized but I don't think she realized that those words rang true in her own life. Yes, she had control over withholding the fact that she knew him but she didn't have control over how she felt about him or the indescribable pull they had toward each other. Colton helps Quinn out too. "A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are for." Quinn lived her life after Trent died holed up in her room, wallowing in the wake of his death. You can't go about life without living. Because if you do, you might as well be dead. Meeting Colton really opened Quinn's eyes to his side of the story. Until then, she had only see the pain and suffering brought on by Trent's death. "When the heart was infused with Colton's blood, it started to beat again on its own. Just as my world went completely still." But spending time with Colton allowed her to see the incredible job Trent gave Colton by allowing him to live when he thought all hope was lost. "Knowing he would die before he really got to live." The water theme was poetic too. Like the ocean is free, Colton and Quinn were freeing themselves from their hardened pasts as well. "Because when these tiny little things are afraid, they shine." I actually like to think of the algae being similar to Quinn. it might have taken her a while to buck up the courage to try, but, even though she was afraid of things, she didn't let that fear stop her from experiencing life. I just think Colton in general is an example of someone to life by. "Nothing like a little brush with heath to remind you you're alive." I think too many people live life by just going through the motions. You really have to live and open you're eyes to every little experience in order to really live it to the fullest. And I don't think people really will get this concept until they have that brush with death or look it in the eye. The family concept was also a nice subplot. Both Quinn's family and Colton's were similar but different at the same time. They both experiences hardship and jubilation. Quinn's sister Ryan helped her move on and figure out what she really wanted all while dealing with heartbreak herself. I saw Ryan in myself. Especially when Quinn described her in this way, "Most people don’t know the real her—they know the version she wants them to know." People put up fronts for who they want to be seen as and not who they really are. Only those who get to see the true side of someone are meant to stick around and are worth something in the end. You'll know you've truly met your match when you find you can open that side of yourself that has stayed hidden for so long. "One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can't utter." —James Earl Jones I'll leave you with one thing, the end of the book and also a great ending to this entirely too long post. I guess if you haven't already figured, I tend to write too much all the time. It's something I'll work on if I find people are actually reading these. But until then, let me just say, this book is one worth setting time aside to read. The concept is so fresh it's basically still swimming. But I have to explain, the only reason I didn't give it perfect parks was because I skimmed the tiniest bit, but honestly that could have been because I was so eager to get to more of Colton and Quinn. We lie together, quiet, under an endless sky, beside a bottomless ocean, and we don’t talk about how these are all the things that brought us together. We don’t talk about how we wouldn’t change any of them. |