Lily Made Me Cry (Kimberly's Review of Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley)

Lily and the Octopus, by Steven Rowley             
Published: June 2016
Rating: 5+ Stars

Confession time. I cry easily. I'll just admit that now. But when I read Lily and the Octopus?

Endless tears. I locked myself up in my library at home to finish it. I'm talking going through several tissues. The type of crying that leaves you a little tired when you're done. Luckily my husband was busy during all of this, I didn't want to explain. HA

I've owned dogs all of my life, several of them have been dachshunds.  I picked up this story mostly because of my adoration of the breed. I've also lost two dogs to cancer. If you're a pet owner you understand the grief that comes with learning that your pet is sick, the decision that rests on your heart and on your shoulders, and the feeling of impending doom that sits with you, as well as that final awful grief that sweeps in once that beloved animal is gone.

Mr. Rowley also understands this, and it is devastatingly described in this story. Every single aspect of owning and loving a dog. The frustration, the joy, the companionship, the hard times. The little random things that they do that wiggle into your heart and become precious. Those moments of sheer panic when something is wrong and you don't know what to do to help them. Knowing that you belong to them as surely as they belong to you. Bonding with others through your mutual love of four legged companions. The confusion of meeting someone who doesn't like them.

I started this story knowing I'd probably cry. I had no idea just how many emotions I'd go through. I feel like I experienced everything with Ted and Lily. I was there when he first met her and fell in love. I was there with them for each of the things they experienced together. I was with him and shared his grief.

I realize I might sound like a real weirdo. Especially if you've never owned a pet. It's probably similar to parenthood, you can't fully understand it until you experience it.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book. I'd suggest not reading it in public.

Lori Reviews MY SUNSHINE AWAY by M. O. Walsh

Title:  My Sunshine Away
Author:  M.O. Walsh
Publication Information:  February 2015 by Amy Einhorn Books
How I Got This Book:  I bought a copy on my Kindle app.

Goodreads Synopsis:  My Sunshine Away unfolds in a Baton Rouge neighborhood best known for cookouts on sweltering summer afternoons, cauldrons of spicy crawfish, and passionate football fandom. But in the summer of 1989, when fifteen-year-old Lindy Simpson—free spirit, track star, and belle of the block—experiences a horrible crime late one evening near her home, it becomes apparent that this idyllic stretch of Southern suburbia has a dark side, too.

In My Sunshine Away, M.O. Walsh brilliantly juxtaposes the enchantment of a charmed childhood with the gripping story of a violent crime, unraveling families, and consuming adolescent love. Acutely wise and deeply honest, it is an astonishing and page-turning debut about the meaning of family, the power of memory, and our ability to forgive.

My Thoughts:  Wow.  A Twitter friend mentioned this book and I bought it immediately because I trust her taste.  Only partway through, I began brow-beating another friend into reading this one, encouraging her to abandon her current read and start immediately.  Finally she relented and she thanked me for it.  I think.  I'll just say she did because I know she liked the book, so on some level she did thank me.

This has the elements of a thriller--in the opening pages a teenage girl is raped right down the street from her home and the narrator tries to figure out who did it--but it also is a wonderful, beautiful bildungsroman about growing up and life changing and becoming more complicated that we can all relate to.  The real story is the narrator's personal development from a boy firmly ensconced in his little suburban home to a man who has faced some real challenges and changes and comes out the other side.

My heart broke a number of times throughout this novel, at big and small moments.  The end left me feeling weird and utterly destroyed, yet somehow hopeful and wistful.  For me, it was the same feeling I get at the end of To Kill a Mockingbird.  I felt completely alive, but also somehow detached from my real world.  Somehow I was able to drive to Chipotle and back in a fantastic haze.

This is a book I still think about and carry with me.

I cannot wait to see what else Walsh produces.

An utterly amazing read.

A new favorite for me.

Go buy it.  Now!

Top Ten Books That Will Make You Cry

To learn more about Top Ten Tuesday or see a list of future topics click here!

This week's topic is books that will make you cry. Usually the books that made me cry the hardest tend to be the ones I love the most.

Jen's Picks

1. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein: Crying during this book was unexpected. But that one tragic  thing that happens took me by surprise.

2. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green: Did anyone read this book without shedding a few tears?

3. If I Stay by Gayle Forman: I'm pretty sure I cried the entire time I was reading this book. How could you not?!

4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling: I read the series for the first time over the summer and I'm sure you can guess the part I started bawling my eyes out.

5. Perfect Fifths by Megan McCafferty: I mainly cried because it was the last book of the series and I didn't want to let the characters go.

Kimberly's Picks

1. On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta: The writing is so beautiful and you become incredibly attached to the characters, parts of this book bring me to tears every time. 

2. Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling: I know Jen already listed Half Blood Prince, but I'm including the entire series. I grew up with the series and am about as emotionally invested as you can be. I can't read the first chapter of the first book without getting misty-eyed. I've read each of the books numerous times, and there are certain parts (most of you will know what I mean...) that I cry every time, even though I've already been through it before.

3. Me Before You by JoJo Moyes: I knew going into this book that it would be emotional, the subject matter alone told me that. Everyone who recommended it to me also told me so. I was a complete mess when I finished it, tears, anger, more tears.

4. Stolen: A Letter to My Captor by Lucy Christopher: I've read reviews before that said that this isn't a book to be "enjoyed", it's one to be experienced. That is one of the most accurate ways I can think of to describe it. I was pulled into the story and was so involved that half my preconceived ideas went out the window while reading. I was surprised by the tears, mostly by what caused them. Or rather, WHO caused them. 

5. How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr: This was another one that surprised me. I knew the topic would be potentially emotional, but there were a few characters that I simply couldn't stand... at least not at first. What amazed me was the growth of the characters and how much I grew to care about them. Definitely was in tears multiple times.

Tell us!! What books made you cry?? Any of our picks?