Book Review: Notes to Self

Notes to Self

Author: Avery Sawyer

Publish Date: November 20, 2011

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services

Two climbed up. Two fell down.

One woke up.

In the aftermath of a traumatic brain injury, Robin Saunders has to relearn who she is and find out what happened the night everything changed.(From Amazon)

I was supposed to write this review DAYS ago… Crazy hectic holiday stopped that.  Then every time I had a moment I was at a loss for words. How do I describe this exactly? How do I briefly review the emotional heart wrench and sorrow and anger that this book drives me to? 

Robin feels that she’s broken. She knows something and can’t quite put her finger on it.  I was sucked into her desperation and frustration on trying to figure out what that something is.  I ached for her when she had problems doing normal things again. What seems like it should be an everyday activity is like scaling a mountain of epic proportions to her. Her turmoil over doing the little things makes me very aware of what we take for granted as mundane shouldn’t be. The notes are saddening in a way. She has so little that she writes it makes it all too clear what the head trauma did to her. 

The book isn’t about romance but soul searching which is a refreshing change to the YA literature. There was romance but it’s not the sickening sweet, poured chocolate and glitter on everything kind. It was casual and very naturally done that it doesn’t feel forced or like some kind of complex. 

The book is short, but it grabs from the first page and refuses to let go until the last page is done. There’s no unnecessary words or scenarios that leave the reader baffled as to why that was important.  

This is an emotional rollercoaster that starts on page one and ends on the last page. There’s no stopping in between. I did cry. I will admit it. I was angry too. I would definitely recommend it to anyone that would like a heart wringer with a happy (mostly) ending. 

My Rating: