This is an equally engaging and emotional sequel to the YA book, If I Stay (which of course one must read first in order to enjoy this second book). Effectively told through Adam's voice, three years after his traumatic break-up with Mia, this book definitely delivers and completes the series. Now living on opposite sides of the country, Adam in Los Angeles and Mia in New York, pursuing their opposite musical careers, Adam a rock vocalist/songwriter and Mia a classical Cellist, they meet by chance one powerful night...
'Every morning I wake up and I tell myself this: It's just one day, one twenty-four-hour period to get yourself through. I don't know when exactly I started giving myself this daily pep talk -- or why.'(opening lines)
'Science of agita-rock? This self-important wankjob deconstructionist crap was something that really threw me in the beginning. As far as I was concerned, I wrote songs: chords and beats and lyrics, verses and bridges and hooks. But then, as we got bigger, people began to dissect the songs like a frog from biology class until there was nothing left but guts -- tiny parts, so much less than the sum.'(13)
'I throw down my credit card and enter the cool, dim theater. I slide into my seat and close my eyes, remembering the last time I went to a cello concert somewhere this fancy. Five years ago, on our first date. Just as I did that night, I feel this mad rush of anticipation, even though I know that unlike that night, tonight I won't kiss her. Or touch her. Or even see her up close. ... Tonight, I'll listen. And that'll be enough.'(38)
'My first impulse is not to grab her or kiss her or yell at her. I simply want to cut through the space that separates us, measured in feet -- not miles, not continents, not years -- and to take a callused finger to her face... But I can't touch her. This is a privilege that's been revoked.'(52)
'Ever hear the one about the dog that spent its life chasing cars and finally caught one -- and had no idea what to do with it? ... I'm that dog.'(91)
'I've never been to the Statue of Liberty. Too many crowds. Aldous once invited me on a private helicopter tour, but I don't do choppers. But now that she's right here, I can see why this is on Mia's list. In pictures, the statue always looks kind of grim, determined. But up close, she's softer. She has a look on her face, like she knows something you don't.'(156)
'She said it was because one day I was going to have to go through a metamorphosis like a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly and that scared me, so butterflies scared me.'(174)
'Quitting's not hard. Deciding to quit is hard. Once you make that mental leap, the rest is easy.'(182)
'And there it is. A hollow blown through my heart, confirming what some past of me has always known.
She knows.'(188)
'Letting go. Everyone talks about it like it's the easiest thing. Unfurl your fingers one by one until your hand is open. But my hand has been clenched into a fist for three yeas now; it's frozen shut. All of me is frozen shut. And about to shut down completely.'(189)
'Mick Jagger is crooning away and I practically have to bite my lip to keep from singing along. It used to be I never went anywhere without my tunes. And then it was like everything else, take it or leave it. But now I'll take it. Now I need it.'(202)
'But I'd do it again. I know that now. I'd make that promise a thousand times over and lose her a thousand times over to have heard her play last night or to see her in the morning sunlight. Or even without that. Just to know that she's somewhere out there. Alive.'(215)
'I look around for my favorite mug, the one with the dancing coffeepots on it, and I am so damn happy to find it's still there. It's almost like having my picture on the wall, too. A little piece of me still exists, even if the largest part of me can't.'(225)
'First you inspect me
Then you dissect me
Then you reject me
I wait for the day
That you'll resurrect me
"ANIMATE"
COLLATERAL DAMAGE, TRACK 1'(255)
Dutton Books First Hardcover Edition
260 pages
Book borrowed from the library
Book qualifies for:100+ Reading Challenge
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SUKO
Congratulations and hope you enjoy the books.
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