Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club discussion

Members choice for June's additional read



Book Summary:
Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time

A rollercoaster of emotions, get the tissues ready!

This book has some moral dilemmas that are excellent for book discussions.

Before Sunday 8th - Please keep any spoilers behind tags.

Sunday 8th onwards - Discussion questions will be posted and open to spoilers.

I thought this was such a great book. It's not my typical type of read, but I loved it. And yes...tissues will be needed. :)

This was one of my favorite books of 2013. I'm so glad that everyone who has not read it is reading it now and look forward to the discussion.

And as Lynn and Kristie said, make sure you are stocked up on tissues!

I was reluctant to read this because of all the hype surrounding this book but am so glad that I did. It was a beautiful story about living and loving that I thoroughly enjoyed. It also made me a fan of Jojo Moyes and left me wanting to read her other books.

Yes , definitely keep tissues handy, I was full on bawling....

Marnie wrote: "I was reluctant to read this because of all the hype surrounding this book but am so glad that I did. It was a beautiful story about living and loving that I thoroughly enjoyed. It also made me a f..."

I've now read 3 of her other books and 2 of them are really great too.

I also really enjoyed this book. It was one of my favorite reads of this year thus far. I am looking forward to reading her new book( frustrating sometimes waiting for a library hold!)

I read this one before I saw a lot of hype around it and I'm glad I did. I always worry about books with too much hype.

I am excited to finally join a book discussion, hopefully will meet some GR friends to have later discussions with! Are there any guidelines as to how much information to post? I would hate to post a spoiler! I am starting the book later today :)

I too loved this book and now am a fan of Jojo Moyes as Marnie said.

i read this book recently and I am sure I am in the minority when I say I didn't love it.
I didn't connect with the girl AT ALL. I wished the author gave us more than a peek into Will's life prior to the accident. It was a ok read for me and I didn't cry at all at the end.

Kayla - I plan to start posting discussion questions and opening the thread to spoilers at the end of this week. Until then please use spoiler tags.

Stacy - Just an ok read but you gave it 4 stars? Obviously you may have a different rating system but for me 4 stars is a high rating for a book I really liked.

Lynn wrote: "Kayla - I plan to start posting discussion questions and opening the thread to spoilers at the end of this week. Until then please use spoiler tags.

Stacy - Just an ok read but you gave it 4 star..."

Thank you Lynn. I will get to reading then! 4 stars from me also means it was an amazing book.

Lynn wrote: "Kayla - I plan to start posting discussion questions and opening the thread to spoilers at the end of this week. Until then please use spoiler tags.

Stacy - Just an ok read but you gave it 4 star..."

Then i suppose i will have to go back and rerate it. From what I remember it was ok

Part of the problem is , you can't give half stars. i would rate it 3 and a half, but I didn't want to under rate it.

I am also part of the minority. I wasn't able to connect with the characters or care about them much. Of course, it's tragic, but the writing was far too emotional for me. It felt like an Oprah version of the underlying story. I've read a lot of reports of people going through this or other books dealing with the topic and found those far more moving and honest than this book. It felt like it was written to make me cry instead of written to tell the story .. ykwim?

I have been wanting to read this

Stacy wrote: "Then i suppose i will have to go back and rerate it. From what I remember it was ok"

Not at all Stacy, you rate how you want to rate :)

Just trying to understand your rating that is all.

RitaSkeeter. I agree completely with your spoiler about Lou.

Stacy wrote: "Part of the problem is , you can't give half stars. i would rate it 3 and a half, but I didn't want to under rate it."

I know what you mean :) I vote for half stars!

RitaSkeeter wrote: "Just started this tonight, and it has hit me for six. I was expecting chick lit - it looks like chick lit and the blurb reads like chick lit. I didn't have any idea that the book would be about [s..."

I have just started too, and will have to keep reading so that I can read your spoiler! Thank you for covering it for the rest of us who haven't perhaps gotten as far as you yet.

RitaSkeeter - I completely agree with your spoiler. That really annoyed me and I definitely felt for Lou too! I really liked her character.

This maybe a silly question, but do additional reads count towards the Goodread Challenge?

Yes, Virginie. If a book counts towards the Choice Awards Challenge (which this one does), then it still counts even if it is an additional read.

What a strange coincidence. ;)

Kristie wrote: "Yes, Virginie. If a book counts towards the Choice Awards Challenge (which this one does), then it still counts even if it is an additional read."

Thank you Kristie!!

RitaSkeeter wrote: "I've just finished the book, and incidentally run out of hankies."

Was it a good ugly cry then?! Or one of those... Never want to read this ever again?

RitaSkeeter wrote: "I've just finished the book, and incidentally run out of hankies."

I need to keep reading then! I am about... 60-80 pages in, last time I stayed up too late reading and swallowed down about 50 pages. Whoops!

RitaSkeeter wrote: "Just started this tonight, and it has hit me for six. I was expecting chick lit - it looks like chick lit and the blurb reads like chick lit. I didn't have any idea that the book would be about [s..."

I agree with your spoiler. I am about 80 pages in and learned about her sister, and have more insights about her family life. (view spoiler)[ When they were first introduced... I thought, what a bunch of non loving jerks. Now even her sister makes me angry with the news she just announced to Lou. It seems like they are just depending on her completely, when her sister does have a child and her grandpa is at home as well; leaving her not the only one at home still.
Do you have any sympathy for them though since their money troubles have been more revealed, and how Lou is still at home? She could say piss off and leave them up and dry, but she doesn't seem the type. She is the scapegoat of the family. I also do not like Andrew.... (hide spoiler)]

Just finished this one. I don't think it was quite as good as "The Girl You Left Behind," but I'm more into historical fiction than contemporary, so it could be just me.

Was still a great read! And I cried a little at the end -- not a lot, just a little.

RitaSkeeter wrote: I really enjoyed the book. I thought the author managed to present a view on the topic without being maudlin or (in my view, I know others may feel differently) emotionally manipulating the reader.

I agree with this. It's not an easy thing to write about and I don't feel like my Beloved JoJo (which is how I have come to think of her - LOL) was manipulative at all. Although admittedly I cried so hard and so loud that I woke my husband up (he thought someone in my family had died) - I thought the author's goal was not to write a "tearjerker"

Tullia wrote: "My view will be very unpopular, but here goes:

The book felt emotionally manipulative to me. One of the reasons I feel this way is that the book is marketed as a romance, when clearly it's a book ..."

Tillia, I loved the book. I felt the book should have been classified as book club rather than romance myself. What was the political message? I don't have the book any longer other wise I would look it up.

Sandy - (view spoiler)[Tullia was talking about the subject of assisted suicide (hide spoiler)]

One of the best books I've read in a long time. The characters were very real and the story premise (which I won't divulge here) made for a complex and fulfilling experience. I highly recommend this book. I will wait until after Sunday to join in more explicit discussion, but I will say I cried (at times so hard my dogs came to comfort me!) several times throughout the book.

Lynn wrote: "Sandy - [spoilers removed]"

Thanks Lynn, I thought that there was something at the end of the book that I just didn't remember.

Hm .. I also felt the emotional manipulation, but differently.
(view spoiler)[To me, I felt it was unnecessary to add all that drama around his decision. I am very pro assisted suicide .. I feel that anyone should be free to choose to end their lives for whatever reasons. To me there needs to be no emotional turmoil around it. I found all his relatives very annoying and also Lou's attempts to change his mind disrespectful of his situation. It made me angry and to me it seemed like the author didn't want me to think about the topic, but just wanted me to cry (while in fact we should rejoice for him to be able to do what he needs to do). It is not my right to judge his decision and no one can make assumptions about what life is like for someone else.
I found the topic to be dealt with so much more respectfully in a YA book that I read recently. Without unnecessary emotional drama or a superficial romance. (hide spoiler)]

Janina wrote: "Hm .. I also felt the emotional manipulation, but differently.
To me, I felt it was unnecessary to add all that drama around his decision. I am very pro assisted suicide .. I feel that anyone shou..."

Interesting perspective. (view spoiler)[ I did not feel like the drama was unnecssary, I am glad it was in there. I think it would of been almost... too bold of the author to leave it out, she wanted to show both sides of the story.
I do agree that his family was annoying and I see what you mean about the disrespect, but I also believe that in the end, that is why Lou went. Assisted suicide being such a sensitive subject and her falling in love with him at the right time (her boyfriend and their relationship kind of led her up to this), it's understandable that she tried to stop it from happening. Did you feel any resolution in the end that she did accept his decision, and is now going to live the life he basically gave her? (hide spoiler)]

I finished, and really truly loved it. People mentioned that they cried.. I need to fess up, I did too. To the point where my dog came up to me because he can feel when I am upset. What a way to spend a day off, on a Saturday morning huh? ;-)
(view spoiler)[ The assisted suicide plot of the book did not bother me like it did some people. In the end, I thought the author did a great job of wrapping it up, and offering both sides- particularly when Lou talked to Nathan about it.
She was finally able to put her heart into a task, which we kind of knew she was capable of, loving her cafe job so much. Simply, she fell for Will. This came in kind of perfect timing, with her being 27, living and helping support her family, and also being in a relationship that was basically going nowhere. (hide spoiler)]

Deb wrote: "One of the best books I've read in a long time. The characters were very real and the story premise (which I won't divulge here) made for a complex and fulfilling experience. I highly recommend thi..."

I am glad you loved it as much as I did, and I had to let out a chuckle reading that your dog came to you too, poor things wondering what is wrong with us!

Kayla, I think I liked the ending. It's been a while since I've read it. My main issue was more the emotionality of everything happening beforehand .. (view spoiler)[the focus on the people suffering instead of Will .. which makes sense, but it was just pushing too many buttons for me. I tend to feel that way with books by Jodi Picoult as well .. they seem similar, but Picoult does it with less focus on the female heart and romance, if that makes sense. (hide spoiler)]

Rita, I liked your comment.

I'm in with the minority on this book. I gave it three stars.

SPOILER ALERT

PLEASE NOTE: BOOK DISCUSSION AND SPOILERS WILL NOW BE PRESENT OPEN AFTER THIS THREAD

I'll start posting some discussion questions every couple of days (which were issued by the publisher)

1. If you were Louisa, would you have quit working for the Traynors? If yes, at what point?

2. Were you able to relate to the way Will felt after his accident? What about his outlook on life did you find most difficult to understand or accept?

1. No, I wouldn't have quit, but I don't have as difficult a time with assisted suicide as Lou (and her family) do. Plus, my family is more supportive.

2. I could completely relate to Will. I would imagine that it's just awful to go from living the life he had to being sick all the time. *Spoiler refers to the end of the book* (view spoiler)[ I don't think I would have made the same decision he did. I just understand how miserable he must have felt and could understand him wanting to make that decision. I do find it incredibly sad for his family and friends to feel so helpless in this situation and losing him like that. Even when you have time to prepare and know it's coming, losing a loved one is incredibly difficult. :( (hide spoiler)]

I'd like to think I would not have quit the Traynors. If at all, it would be most likely at the beginning when she was most out of her depth and he was not very pleasant to be around. After getting to know and like him, I don't think you could just walk away, knowing what was going on and believing you had a chance to change that. Note that I don't think she ever had a real chance to change it, but she believed she did.

As for Will's point of view, how can any of us know what his experience/pain/frustration/etc is truly like? At the beginning, he seemed like a spoiled child but only because we the reader really wasn't privy to the true state of his medical well being, and the longer term prognosis. I found myself wishing that developing this relationship would have an impact on his outlook, that his desire to engage with another person, to love another person, would be enough to want to live. I found it hardest when they were on their holiday because it really seemed like there could be a valued life. Frankly, I can't imagine being either person and having to truly confront these types of choices.

1. No, I would not have quit, at least not because he wanted assisted suicide.

2. I think I would be very unhappy to go from a very vibrant, active individual to now being totally dependant on other people. I could relate to how felt. I always want to be doing something. It would be difficult to suddenly not be able to do anything other than to exist and to be in constant pain. I would like to believe that I would still fight to live though.

1- I think I would not have taken the job in the first place. I am not very good at nursing people.

2- I completely related to how Will felt. When I first made out my medical power of attorney ( as part of making out our wills), I asked my husband if he would be willing to " pull the plug" if needed. When he said no I put my brother down! That was 30 years ago. When we redid our wills my husband said that he reconsidered and would now be willing to " pull the plug." See that's what 30 years with me can do to a person!!!

Not a laughing subject but that made me burst out in a hearty laugh Marnie :D

RitaSkeeter wrote: " My take on it was that the author was trying to show the complexity of the issue. I'm pro-euthanasia also, however I agree with the author that it is something that impacts on the loved ones of th..."

I am in complete agreement on this Rita.