My Library in the Making

(View this review on My Library in the Making.)I've always been a softie when it comes to terminal illnesses in books and movies, which is why I try to avoid those as much as possible. This is the reason why I haven't read John Green's The Fault in Our Stars yet, and until now, I'm still not sure what compelled me to read The Girl Next Door. Not that I regret it.The first thing I noticed was the beautiful writing. Selene Castrovilla knew how to gut-punch with just a few words, and with this story she's telling, she sure hit me more than once. But it wasn't all sad. The dry humor in this book, particularly Sam's and her mom's, had me laughing out loud a lot of times.Mom sighed. "Is this my punishment for writing smut all these years? If I switch to Christian writing, will things be different?" "Only with your royalty checks."Jesse's initial sarcasm also made me snort very un-lady-like, even though I knew it was brought about by his helplessness.As is the usual case with terminal illnesses—or any illness, for that matter—the sick person isn't the only one who suffers. Sam might as well have been dying herself. She definitely couldn't hold back her emotions well, and I hated how she would often get selfish and even more depressed than Jesse. But turns out she actually had deep-seated issues of her own, so I just felt for her in the end.One of my few qualms with this book was how there wasn't a lot said—or, rather, showed—pertaining to their friendship because when the story opened, Jesse already had cancer and Sam was already sleeping in his room. But their romance? Oh, it was there, alright. Theirs was a sad, beautiful, tragic love affair, and I'd be damned if I say I didn't root for them to live out the rest of their young lives together, for Jesse to beat his cancer.Just when I thought I'd survive this without the waterworks, the dam broke. The book was beautiful in its entirety, but the ending particularly even more so. Until now, almost a day after finishing it, I'm still telling myself that my tears were happy ones.MY FAVORITE PART was"I want you to hold me just like this—I want you to hold me when I die."*SOBS*