Book Review for Willow by Julia Hoban

Seven months ago, on a rainy March night, sixteen year- old Willow’s parents died in a horrible car accident. Willow was driving. Now her older brother barely speaks to her, her new classmates know her as the killer orphan girl, and Willow is blocking the pain by secretly cutting herself. But when one boy—one sensitive, soulful boy—discovers Willow’s secret, it sparks an intense relationship that turns the “safe” world Willow has created for herself upside down.
Told in an extraordinary fresh voice, Willow is an unforgettable novel about one girl’s struggle to cope with tragedy, and one boy’s refusal to give up on her- Goodreads.


First, let me start by saying how I love this cover. In the picture above, the tag line isn't there, but it is on my version. "It`s hard to keep a secret when It`s written all over your body...". In real life, the cover is gorgeous and completely relates back to the feel of the book. The story is told through Willow`s point of view, so you get to see what she feels when she cuts herself. The book is filled with a lot of pain, most of being mental pain. Willow is a character that I cared for, even after the book was over, which says a lot. She lives with her brother David, who is also consumed with pain.
  Guy. The boy who Willow meets and the boy who changes her life. I loved Guy, but at times he seemed very much the "perfect guy". He was what kept the story flowing in some parts and was sincerely a nice kid. Even though Willow was amazing, Guy comes out on top as my favorite character!
   The plot was really good, and made you think about what someone who is classified as a "cutter" goes through. I didn`t find any parts slow and there was a good amount of detail. In just over 300 pages, Julia Hoban made me want much, much more of Willow & Guy! The book was beautifully painful.