A Book I Love, A Book I Don't

I don't trust a person who loves every book he or she reads. Seriously.

We all bring our own experiences, backgrounds, beliefs, and views of the world into the reading. It's what makes teaching literature so magical. To see a single piece impact a room of people in completely different ways is what I live for.

Students seem to think because I'm an English teacher, I adore everything we read.

Heck no.

I hate Great Expectations just as much as some of the kids, if not more. I loathe Heart of Darkness, could do without a bunch more classics.

Even in my personal reading, there are books I love and books I don't. Below, one recent book I loved...and one I didn't.

1. The Book I Love

My friend Kristin introduced me to Jojo Moyes last year. I was hooked on her style, on her ability to weave stories together from vastly different characters' points of view. I loved how she dealt with issues modern women face. 

I've read a lot of her works now, but Me Before You stands out as one of my favorite books of all time.

I adore Louisa, this scatterbrained, quirky girl who loves bumblebee tights. I love how memorable she is but also how lost she is. She deals with an issue so many of us can relate to--not knowing where your life should go and not being quite brave enough to find out.

Will Traynor also stole my heart as he stole Louisa's. Here's a man with every reason to be cold and gruff. However, through Louisa, we see glimmers of the amazing man he was and still is.

Their love story is so unconventional. This book hits straight in the heart. It's painful, it's tragic, and it's moving. It really makes you ask yourself: What am I doing with my life, and should I be doing more?

​Read this book. Seriously. 

2. The Book I Don't Love

Surprisingly, my least favorite book I've read as of late is actually the sequel to my favorite. After You just really let me down, as much as I hate to say it.

I was so excited for the sequel to this beloved story. I wanted more of the characters. But it just didn't strike me.

The emotion of the first book was lost in the sequel. I didn't really care as much about it. I hated who Louisa had become. I didn't like the new characters. The chemistry, the magic was gone.

Not that it was a terrible, terrible read. It just wasn't memorable. It wasn't powerful like Me Before You. So, if you do read Me Before You, stop with it. I wouldn't suggest reading the sequel. I would have preferred to leave Louisa in my mind where she was at the end of the book.

​How about you? Give me a book you love and a book you hate below. :)