This book reminded me a lot of Since You’ve been Gone by Morgan Matson. It’s about a girl who wants to accomplish something through list of things that need to be done by her. And just like Matson’s SYBG, I love this book, too.
This is the first time I read Paula Stokes’s work. And I have to say, I love her story. This book basically talks about mental illness, but she managed to make it very light without making it disrespectful for reader who experience the same thing as the characters. Girl Against the Universe is really fun, meaningful, and a little bit intense, because daaamn… you’ll know why.
Here is my review. This review may contain spoilers.
Girl Against the Universe tells a story of Maguire, a girl who thinks that she’s a bad luck. Basically, bad things happen around her. Saat dia berumur 12 tahun, dia mengalami kecelakaan mobil yang menewaskan ayah, kakak lelaki, dan pamannya, sedangkan dia hanya terluka lecet-lecet. Roller Coaster yang dia naiki pernah keluar jalur, dan lagi-lagi, dia tidak terluka. And also some other bad things that make me as a reader could understand why she thinks of herself as a bad luck magnet.
Five years after the car accident, Maguire lives in fear that she will hurt other people around her. She can’t be in a vehicle with other people other than her mom. Every morning, she chants a good luck spell for the day. If she enters a new place, she takes 5 second check of her surroundings. Sounds tiring, right? Yep.
At the first few chapters of the story, I didn’t relate to Maguire. I was being insensitive, because I never had any trauma or phobia. So, I was like, girl, just get over it! But her trauma is explained so real, that I didn’t even realize that gradually I sympathized with her. I want her to stop blaming herself. I want her to forgive herself. I want her to live.
At first, she doesn’t want to change. She wants to keep blaming herself. Tapi suatu hari ibu Maguire mengajaknya ke Irlandia untuk menghadiri anniversary kematian ayahnya bersama neneknya. Which means, Maguire has to go on a airplane, with other people, with no control whatsoever. It’s a big no no for her, but at the same time she wants to make her mom happy, because her mom has been through a lot. Jadi, dengan saran Dr. Leed, psikiaternya, Maguire membuat list hal-hal apa saja yang harus dia lakukan, in order for her to beat her phobia and to be able to get on that damn plane. Dia membuat list dari hal termudah dulu, seperti ikut klub di sekolah, sampai hal tersulit, yaitu mengunjungi lokasi kejadian kecelakaan mobil yang dia alami 5 tahun lalu. It’s not easy at all, but she has Jordy.
Who’s Jordy? Well, he’s the ultimate sweetheart of the story. Jordy is the guy whose appointment for Dr. Leed’s session is right after Maguire session. Turns out, he’s also the coach assistant in her new tennis club. Apparently, he’s also a tennis star in this town (I forgot to mention that Maguire moved to a new town because people in her previous town started talking ill about her, being bad luck yadayadayada). He has his own issues and his own list too. Dan tentu saja mereka saling membantu untuk menyelesaikan list mereka.
What I really hate about this book is that, because I know it’s about someone who thinks that she’s a bad luck, then there must be really something bad happen at the climax part of the story. It’s like waiting for the bomb to explode.
But what I love the most is how I can see Maguire gradually changes throughout the story. Not really visible, but we know that she changes, little by little.
P.S.: The hospital scene with her mother really got me. I cried so hard even though I was at work while reading that.
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