Laura Anderson Kurk

Glass Girl in five words: It was absolutely, positively beautiful.

Goodness gracious, I love this book. Love. It. Laura Anderson Kurk’s writing is both beautiful and lyrical; Her characters rich, layered, and oh so very real. The depth of emotion that this book evokes will at the same time leave you breathless and have you begging for more. It will break your heart and then put you back together again. You may not be the same as you were when you started, but you will most definitely be left whole.

“We all have a gap after we lose someone. We think that we will always have this hole that’s obvious to everyone around us. We won’t. The hole will be filled with life. It will be something entirely different, but at least it won’t let the wind in anymore.”

I connected with Meg from the very first page. Her pain and guilt were palpable; Her sorrow was my own. My heart broke for her. I cried for her. With her. I shared her sliver of hope at a new beginning as she moved away from the only place that she had ever called home. I carried Wyatt around in my heart, just as she did in hers. I was with her the frist time she met Thanet, and my heart was warmed. I fell in love with Henry, well, because he’s Henry.

“All right Meg. First thing you need to know is that a man’s horse is only very slightly less important to him than is girl.”

Henry Whitmire is kind, gentle, and caring. He takes his responsibilities seriously, and won’t back down if the going gets tough. He knows what’s important in life and he’d move Heaven and Earth to take care of what’s his. Every girl deserves a Henry. Especially Meg. He lends her his strength and teaches her that it’s okay to let go. He let’s her know that being sensitive isn’t the end of the world, because you’re not in this world alone. He reaffirms her faith. He becomes her mercy.

“We’re all human and mortal. We’re all going to suffer and die. But it’s how we are with each other during those times that proves God’s here with us. He comes in through people. People who love us anyway. They jump right into the chaos with us and try to help us make sense of it. That’s what mercy is. . . it’s choosing to help, or forgive, or love even when it goes against all logic.”

One thing that I loved about this book was that it’s characters were wise beyond their years. Whether it was due to disability, tragedy, or responsibility, those kids saw the world differently than most. They knew how to spot what is truly important in life and they each had more heart than they knew what to do with. It was refreshing.

This story is not a light one, but it does have a light. It will suck you in and when you come out on the other side, you’ll be better for it. I highly recommend this book. To Everyone. Grab some tissues. Read it. Love it. Thank me later :)… (mehr)

There are authors out there that, no matter what they write, you know you’re going to pick up their books. It could be about anything really, but it doesn’t matter, because it has their name on it. Some of mine are Cassandra Clare, Maggie Stiefvater, Melissa Marr, Colleen Hoover, Tammara Webber, and Sarah Dessen, just to name a few.

Laura Anderson Kurk is one of those authors.

In this sequel to Glass Girl, Kurk reminds us of why we fell in love with her writing in the first place: beautiful prose and the ability to put us right smack inside her characters’ heads, allowing us to see what they see, feel what they feel. This is why we love her.

In Perfect Glass, Meg and Henry face the trials of separation and all of the woes that go along with them. Fear. Uncertainty. Jealousy. Loneliness.

“All of the emotions that hit people at times like these, all of them, coursed through us both like a secret we couldn’t tell. Because if we said everything we were thinking and feeling right then. . . if we laid it all out for one another. . . we might not like the way the words strung together. Or the way fear and hope and bitterness and love mashed up into one big mess in the pits of our stomachs.”

But despite their challenges (being apart, tragedy, unwanted suitors) Meg and Henry hold on to what they already know to be true: life isn’t always easy, the important things in life are not actually things, and the best things in life are worth fighting for.

“The real moments in this life—the ones that let you know where you stand—are those that are hard and rough. You can find joy in those real moments, too. Not pleasure, but joy.”

One of my favorite things about this book was that it was written in dual perspective. A lot of this book is about Henry’s journey of self discovery and I love that we get to hear it in his voice (Can I just say how much I love Henry Whitmire? Seriously. I L-O-V-E Love him). I also love the fact that we get to see both sides of this difficult situation that they’ve found themselves in. We get to see how the separation affects them, tests them. We get to see them learn what it means to have faith in one another, to trust one another, and to be honest with each other, even when it’s the hardest thing they have to do. We get to see them support each other through thick and thin, and learn that, sometimes, five words is all it takes to give someone hope.

“It was only five words—I still believe in you.”

Perfect Glass is most definitely a worthy sequel for Glass Girl; It was everything I hoped it would be and more.

*I was given an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.… (mehr)