Synopsis

When it comes to love there’s no such thing as conventional.

Everyone thinks Colton Neely is special.

Lilly Evans just thinks he’s fascinating.

Once friends when they were younger, their bond is cut short due to her accident prone nature and they go their separate ways. Years later, they meet again and Lilly learns that there is something special about the boy she once knew, but she has no idea what it all means. And she’s not sure if she’s ready to find out.

When he walks through the corridor of her school the first day of her senior year, she knows that it’s time to get to know the real Colton Neely. The more she learns, the deeper she falls.

Their friendship grows into love, even as Colton does not express it in words. But one decision threatens to break down the world that Lilly has tried so hard to integrate into and she must figure out if the relationship can survive if they are apart.

*2014 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Young Adult book*

Véleményem a könyvről

Ez egy nagyon aranyos és érzelmes kis novella volt, és igazán imádtam minden sorát. Hogy őszinte legyek, egy picit mélyebbre és komolyabbra számítottam, de azt hiszem, hogy egy ifjúsági könyvnek talán nem is ez a feladata, és végül ez így volt tökéletes.

Colton és Lilly gyerekkorukban találkoznak először, amikor Colton anyukája megbízza Lillyt, hogy „vigyázzon” a fiúra. Mivel Lilly is csupán 10 éves és Colton is 9, így először nem igazán érhető, hogy miért pont Lilly a babysitter. Lilly nagyon jól érzi magát Colton társaságában és nem igazán tűnik fel neki semmi furcsa, de miután a kislányt folyamatosan balesetek érik, Colton anyukája megszakítja a kapcsolatot, és így a két gyerek sok-sok évig nem is találkozik újra.

Az utolsó gimnáziumi év első napján azonban megjelenik Colton a folyosón, pont Lilly szekrényétől néhány lépésre. Kiderül, hogy az eltelt évek alatt a fiúból igazi festőművész vált, akinek alkotásai igen nagy körben váltak ismertté. Lilly soha sem felejtette el a fiút és egyből érzi a vonzalmat Colton iránt, és egyáltalán nem érdeklik a különbözőségek, habár ekkora világossá válik számára, hogy Colton-nak Asperger-szindrómája van. Utánajár a dolgoknak és megpróbál mindent úgy alakítani, hogy Coltonnak is jó legyen, ezzel egy időben viszont megállíthatatlanul elrabolja a szívét ez a kivételes fiú.

Nagyon szép és megható kis történet, és igazán komoly témát érint. Nagyon tetszettek a karakterek, és tetszett, hogy ki mert lépni a „színező könyv vonalain kívül” is. 🙂

My Review in English

It was a really beautiful, cute, heartwarming and funny short story and I loved every single line of it. To tell the truth, I expected something deeper and maybe a little more serious, but maybe this is not the job of a Young Adult novel and at the end it was perfect as it was.

Colton and Lily meets when they are only kids, when Colton’s mom hires Lily to babysit him. Lily is only ten years old and Colton is nine so at first it doesn’t make sense why would be Lily the perfect person for this job. Lily really enjoys herself around Colton and she doesn’t notice anything strange about him at first. Lily is a very funny and adventurous little girl, but after a lot of her mishaps, Colton’s mom breaks the connection between them and they don’t see each other again for years.

On the first day of Lily’s senior year of high school Colton shows up at the hallway a few feet away from Lily’s locker. During the years Colton was homeschooled and it turns out that over these years Colton became a famous artist and his paintings are known widely. Lily never forgot Colton and she immediately feels the connection with him. She doesn’t care about the differences between them although it becomes obvious that Colton is a little different from the others, and she realizes that he has Asperger’s. After she learns about this syndrome as much as possible she tries to form everything to be the best for him and at the same time this unique boy steals her heart.

It was a really beautiful, touching story which focuses on a difficult subject matter that is often not talked about. I really loved the characters and I really loved that this story dared to “color outside the lines.” 🙂

My Favorite Quotes From the Book

“I’m Lilly Grace Evans and this is the true account of how I ended up falling for a boy who made me believe love is anything but conventional. Love, for those lucky enough to experience it, is extraordinary.”

“It felt like the beginning of something incredible.”

“When you love someone, their differences fall away. I don’t look at him and see anything but HIM.”

 “He trusted me implicity to be his friend, and I was doing my best. But I was falling for him, and falling for him fast.”

“Life is meant to be lived, and if you’re offered the chance to experience exceptional things with an extraordinary person, then there isn’t one reason in the world to say no.”

“I’ve said it before but it bears repeating: Colton is very literal. I told him he could kiss me anytime. He did just that.”

“I’ve always heard the best match in life is the person opposite of you that makes a complete whole.”

“You’re my beautiful Lilly. The one who makes everything right in my world.”

4,5- Extraordinary- Stars

A Million Drops of Rain (Puddle Jumping #2)
Colton and Lilly’s story continues. (Coming soon)

About the Author

Amber lives in Texas with her amazingly talented husband and incredibly gifted son. Most known for her novella Puddle Jumping (a 2014 Goodreads Choice Award for Best YA) she is constantly trying her hand at new genres and ideas to force herself to think outside the box.

She is inspired by music, her family, a close group of friends, and real life. Mostly in that order.

Twitter * Facebook * Website

 

Autism Awareness Month

Earlier I  brought my post about the Autism Awareness Month where I wrote some details about  the second LIFT 4 Autism campaign, where more than 200 authors and bloggers are partnering, donating books and other items to an auction the last week of April. Proceeds from this auction will go directly to the charitable partner, Talk About Curing Autism (TACA), a national non-profit organization dedicated to educating, empowering and supporting families affected by autism. Specifically, our efforts will benefit families served through TACA’s scholarship program to offset medical and therapy costs.

★ Click the link to read the complete article on USA Today: http://usat.ly/1NuBei2
★ You can learn more about autism here:  http://autismsciencefoundation.org/what-is-autism/
★ Purchase a LIFT 2016 T-shirt: https://teespring.com/2016Lift
★ Bid in the auction. Register now and start bidding April 25th: http://bit.ly/LIFT2016Auction
★ Make a tax-deductible donation: http://2016ff.tacanow.org/LIFTAuction2016