The Whomping Willows (Blog)

I’m not going to pretend that I know how to review books in any professional, substantial way. I do know how to share my feelings in coherent sentences though, so here goes.

I’ve never been a fan of romance novels, but then again I’ve never read any romance novels that weren’t assigned in an English class. Most of those were Victorian, which meant that the stories reflect a gender dynamic that makes me feel a bit queasy. Anna is a romance novel, but the story is told by a woman who is from my generation, and who apparently shares my taste in film and music. Well, her Anna does, and that immediately makes Anna interesting to me. In fact, teenage me has a huge crush on Anna, and teenage me is still alive and well in my 32 year old brain. So, the end result is that I find Anna’s story interesting, and I care about her happiness — and, naturally, I’m suspicious of any boy who expresses feelings for her, because teenage boys are almost always douchebags.

And this is where the novel really takes me off guard, because I actually found myself rooting for Etienne. Despite his silly name, his cliche hot-cause-he’s-British persona, his flirtation with cheating on his girlfriend, etc. The bottom line is that Etienne’s a pretty cool dude, and he’s got a complex personal history that’s shaped him into a compassionate young adult.

Steph has created several highly believable and relatable characters, none of whom are overly stereotypical or predictable. It’s apparent that Steph loves these characters, and I believe that to be an essential quality of any good story. I love how Steph quietly hints at Rashmi’s cultural background without feeling the need to turn it into some kind of wacky or dramatic subplot. I like how Meredith is both a badass athlete and a teenage girl who gets caught up in boys. I even sense a certain love toward the “bad” characters. Even Amanda has her quirks — she isn’t just another archetypal villian, she’s a real person with traceable motivations.

Overall, I simply enjoy the way Steph tells this story. Her narrative voice is clear, energetic, and infectious. This is a fantastic first novel, and like the works of John Green, it inspires me to think about writing fiction again.

Buy it. Read it. Tell your friends about it. :)