Q: Did I spend a good half hour deciding which picture of Capri, Italy to use in the above image?
A: Yes, yes I did and I am PROUD OF IT.
That's just the kind of Italy-and-gelato-related obsessive streak The Turning Point by Marie Meyer ignites within you. One minute you're happily sitting down with a new book...and the next you're Googling hotels in Italy, flight timetables, and where the closest gelato shop from the Naples airport is.
Read on for my thoughts + a sneak peek into this great book!
My Review
Rating:
**Note: book does contain some mature themes**
Thoughts: Sophia has her life all planned out...until it gets turned upside down.
When she's confronted with the news that her estranged father has Huntington’s Disease - a genetic dominant disorder that gradually kills nerve cells in the brain - suddenly her plans don't look so shiny and certain. All Sophia needs is one dominant allele and she can kiss her future goodbye. She could end up losing everything that makes her her.
But her father gives her one piece of good news: he's booked her a six-week trip to Italy. A trip where she can learn more about her family heritage and consider her future. A trip where she can live.
Sophia is a funny protagonist whom you can't help but love and sympathise with. Although I wanted to scream at her when she acted like her father had booked her a 'one-way trip to hell'because heeeeeelloooo who wouldn't want to go to ITALY thanks to Marie Meyer's excellent writing I keenly felt Sophia's warring emotions as if they were my own.
My favourite part of this book is, of course, that you get to tour Italy without leaving your home! Take a journey with Sophia (and her handsome newfound friend Lucas) that explores both the beautiful sights that Italy has to offer and the delicate nature of new love.
Favourite quote:
When she's confronted with the news that her estranged father has Huntington’s Disease - a genetic dominant disorder that gradually kills nerve cells in the brain - suddenly her plans don't look so shiny and certain. All Sophia needs is one dominant allele and she can kiss her future goodbye. She could end up losing everything that makes her her.
But her father gives her one piece of good news: he's booked her a six-week trip to Italy. A trip where she can learn more about her family heritage and consider her future. A trip where she can live.
Sophia is a funny protagonist whom you can't help but love and sympathise with. Although I wanted to scream at her when she acted like her father had booked her a 'one-way trip to hell'
My favourite part of this book is, of course, that you get to tour Italy without leaving your home! Take a journey with Sophia (and her handsome newfound friend Lucas) that explores both the beautiful sights that Italy has to offer and the delicate nature of new love.
Favourite quote:
“I’m not ready to die.” I choked on the last word.
He backtracked a few steps and snatched the envelope off his coat. “I’m dying, Sophia,” he said matter-of-factly, standing between my legs again. “You’re dying, my dad’s dying, your mom, Dean, anyone with a pulse. The only difference between you and the rest of us? You get a life meter. You get to know when yours will start to run out.” He held up the envelope. “If your number is higher than twenty-seven, what are you going to do with the time you have left?”
“I don’t know!” I shouted. “What can I do?”
He pulled at my chin, forcing me to look at him. “Live. Just like the rest of us."
About the book
It's funny how a piece of paper can change your life-a diploma, a ticket . . . a plain, white envelope.
For as long as I could remember, I was the girl with the plan. Good college, good medical school, good career. I would save lives instead of standing by helplessly, watching while they slipped away.
That was before my father called for the first time in fifteen years to tell me about the terminal illness stealing his life-an illness that might be stealing mine, too. It was before he gave me the name of a doctor and a plane ticket to Italy. Before I flew across an ocean. Before I realized how brilliantly bright life could be. Before I met Lucas.
He's everything I've always wanted, and the timing couldn't be worse. I can't do this to him - he deserves so much better. My head tells me I can't afford to fall in love with Lucas, but my heart won't listen. Lucas is fearless about the future, while I'm not even sure I have one. There's only one way to know what's ahead and it's waiting for me at home inside a plain, white envelope.
All I have to do, is open it . . .
For as long as I could remember, I was the girl with the plan. Good college, good medical school, good career. I would save lives instead of standing by helplessly, watching while they slipped away.
That was before my father called for the first time in fifteen years to tell me about the terminal illness stealing his life-an illness that might be stealing mine, too. It was before he gave me the name of a doctor and a plane ticket to Italy. Before I flew across an ocean. Before I realized how brilliantly bright life could be. Before I met Lucas.
He's everything I've always wanted, and the timing couldn't be worse. I can't do this to him - he deserves so much better. My head tells me I can't afford to fall in love with Lucas, but my heart won't listen. Lucas is fearless about the future, while I'm not even sure I have one. There's only one way to know what's ahead and it's waiting for me at home inside a plain, white envelope.
All I have to do, is open it . . .
This sounds like the perfect read for my summer holidays - I'll definitely be checking it out! :) Great review!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It's definitely the kind of book you can picture reading somewhere summery or whilst on vacation :)
Delete