Yours Truly by Annabel Pitcher

Here is book #3 completed in 2015! So as per my growing routine, here is my summary, review and favourite quotable moments:

Summary:
Set in England, this novel is about Alice (aka Zoe) a high school student, confessing the events leading up to the death of her "boyfriend" by writing subsequent letters to Mr. Stuart Harris, a death row inmate. The novel includes topics of love, fear, betrayal, controversy, and guilt. Throughout the novel Alice struggles choosing between two love interests, between a future in law vs. writing children's books, and dealing with the constant fear of her parents getting divorced based on the continuous arguing and resentment that goes on in their household.

Review:
Overall I really liked the idea of this book. I liked that the story progressed through this unconventional relationship between Zoe and Mr. Harris. It created a relatively unique dynamic to follow along with. As for the ending, I don't want to spoil anything in case you plan on reading this, but I didn't care for it in that, I didn't like that Zoe was left with this undeserved title of girlfriend because it felt very forced. Maybe that was the exact intention of the author but to me it felt a little too contrived. Overall, I thought the writing was well done, and it was an easy read. I would recommend this novel for anyone struggling with any sort of guilt, family pressure or strain, or moral dilemma. I think the writing is best suited to high school readers.

Quotable moments:
"The problem Mr. Harris is this is real life, not fiction, so I wanted to reflect how it actually happened. In real life, things don't build up nicely to a climax. In actual fact, moments occur out of the blue and there's no warning,..." pg. 68

"...and that was the only evidence in the whole world that something inside me felt broken." pg. 74

"'A new season of Top Gear starts tonight,'" pg. 86

"It wasn't just dancing. It was living. Really living, like imagine the width of a moment rather than the length, and two people determined to fill every last millimetre of it." pg. 91

"I like winter and I like the dark and I like cats and I like the rain and I like walking up mountains and sitting at the top in the fog. That's all I need to know about my life right now. It's pretty simple. And I can experience it all for free." pg. 111

"'You're just a girl I keep bumping into. Someone I barely know.'" pg. 159

"My hands slammed against the cold glass door, and I left it spinning as I darted across the foyer and out into the rain --- proper English rain, falling in lines, not dots, splattering my skin and soaking my hair and drenching my clothes." pg. 204

"'Your voice changes when you smile.'" pg. 219

"His eyes said You're beautiful and I felt it, too,..." pg. 222

"'So long,' I agreed, because a life without him would be." pg. 255

"Humans. We're all the same. There's no escaping it. Doesn't matter if you're a bald English guy burping the alphabet or a woman killing chickens in the middle of the Andes. Doesn't matter what language you speak or what clothes you wear. Some things don't change. Families. Friends. Lovers. They're the same in every city in every country in every continent of the world." pg. 259

Hope you enjoy!
-Linds