As discussed in my last post here I love a good beach read. Sometimes, though, what I really need is an ethical dilemma that will keep me up at night. The following books are three novels that you must read with a buddy. You will need to talk to someone about them, and it must be someone that is reading it also. Fortunately, none of these are new releases so purchasing on Amazon will be less of a burden.
Fair warning, this book is going to rip your heart out. The ending doesn’t even do it. It is the entire novel that just leaves you so raw and acutely aware of the entire range of emotions you can feel for other humans. The novel follows two entirely different and unrelated story lines connected through one coincidence on the calendar. Both of the two main characters have five days left before a deadline that will break everyone’s heart. Scott is an above and beyond kind of teacher. Scott’s shining star student that earned himself a basketball scholarship to college and a ticket out of a bad neighborhood comes to him because he will be giving it all up to watch his younger brother while their mother serves a prison sentence. Refusing to let this happen, Scott and his wife foster the eight year old and fall madly in love with him. When the story begins, they have five days left until they must say goodbye to the little boy they now think of as their own son. Meanwhile, Mara, a lawyer, wife, and mother received an earth shattering diagnosis that she knows will eventually destroy the life she has built. She made a promise to herself that when her symptoms reached a certain threshold she would wait until her next birthday, and then take her own life. When the book opens, her birthday is five days away. The story follows as these characters race against time, both knowing that these deadlines are looming, and feeling so terribly helpless in the face of circumstance. Buy it here!
Jane Forrester is a newlywed when she gets her first job as a social worker in North Carolina. She is assigned to a rural neighborhood, and she quickly becomes invested in the lives of the Hart family. Having lost their parents, the two Hart sisters are being raised by their rapidly aging grandmother. With the elder sister already a teen mother raising a child without resources, financial or otherwise, Jane is called upon to step in to make certain that the younger sister, Ivy, does not fall into the same pattern. Initially she is happy to be the voice of reason, until she learns that “help” to her bosses, means tricking Ivy into participating in the state mandated sterilization program. As a pragmatist, Jane understands why a family on welfare with a litany of mental and physical health issues should not be having more children. However, as a woman and a human, she cannot imagine being a part of something so heinous. Based on true events, this story will make you question everything you believe about government intervention, a woman’s right to choose, and how hard you would fight if you were pushed into a corner. Buy it here!
As a former English teacher, I am often furious when extraordinary novels are made into movies. There are so many pieces of a story that simply do not translate to film. Me Before You, at its core, is a novel that explores the depth of human emotion, the necessity of feeling in control, and the ability to make peace with heartbreaking decisions. All of these are internal conflicts, and therefore the movie was set up for failure. I have so many friends that won’t let me choose movies anymore after “that terrible sad one you made us go to.”
If you have been living under a rock and don’t know, Louisa is a young woman who, upon getting laid off, takes a job as a caretaker for a paraplegic named Will. Will, prior to his accident, was a handsome, wealthy, and successful young man that climbed mountains, jumped out of planes, and sailed straight into storms. The irony of his accident shines so brightly that readers can’t even look straight at, so it takes no time at all to figure out that he absolutely hates himself in his current state. Initially the quirky and messy Louisa and the always straight laced, put together, and polished Will clash profoundly, but their differences end up being just what the doctor called for for them each to work though some inner demons. Despite the short term healing that seems to occur, Will, readers quickly learn, no longer wishes to live. This beautiful tome explores the intricacies of euthanasia, and how the will to live is something that must come from within. By allowing readers into the hearts of each of these characters JoJo Moyes reminds us that you never can fully understand the depth of someone’s pain, but you can love them as much as you can for as long as you can, and that does make a difference. Buy it here!
Please feel free to read these and then leave me comments about them because I still need to talk about them!
Advertisements Share this:
