Amy And Matthew: A Love Story (2014) - Plot & Excerpts
Oh, how I wanted to give this book four or five stars...for originality, for portraying main characters with a handicap (Amy has cerebral palsy) and with mental illnesses (Matthew has OCD), for being beautifully written. The book is all of those, but it also has some major shortcomings. A very shiort summary of the story: Amy and Matthew ,meet when Amy hires peer helpers to help her with daily tasks she can't do herself. It turns out Mmathew is as much of a loner as she is and has issues all on his own: he's developing a severe case of OCD. They become friends who share (almost) everything with each other, telling each other truths others often want to shield them from.I loved how the friendship between Amy and Matthew was developed and the many texts and emails were well done. The development from friendship into love was also logical and handled well in the story. Amy's mom is an overbearing parent, but you totally understand where she's coming from. But...and here are two big 'buts': I though the [SPOILER ALERT] sudden sex with Sanjay (one of the other peer helpers) was an idiotic plot twist, as was the pregnancy. Everything went sort of downhill after that. The fight (if you can call it that) after Matthew took care of Amy in the hospital really left me mad. It didn't make sense for her to behave that way, not even if she was depressed after the baby. The second 'but' is this: the writing was beautiful, yet I never felt really close to both main characters. I missed internalization, something that's so often overdone in other ya novels (especially written in the first person). Other reviewers have said the third person was the issue, but I don't think that's true. Third person can feel just as close, if it's done right. So four to five points for the first part, but only three in total because of the plot development. The book contains references to sex (though the actual sexual encounter of Amy and Sanjay is not described) and some cuss words. At first, this book was amazing. The characters were really funny and broken in their own ways. I never read bout someone with Amy's condition and found that quite interesting. I loved her and Mathew's friendship. Then something happened where their relationship became awkward and from that point i never got any more satisfaction with their relationship as I was in the beginning. To me, they never came back to the same close friendship they had at the beginning. Also, i wanted more of a definate conclusion. Overall, i felt like if they book had just been the first half with a different ending, it could have been great.
What do You think about Amy And Matthew: A Love Story (2014)?
It's a 3.75 but you know goodreads doesn't have that option.
—Hannah
