P.S. I Love You .... Joanna Elvis 5048

                                    P.S. I Love You   
                                                              by Cecelia Ahern 

Book review  by Joanna Elvis 5048

        

                              Cecelia Ahern, the 22-year-old daughter of Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, writes with insight beyond her years in her debut novel, P.S. I Love You. Cecelia Ahern was born and brought up in Dublin. She is now published in nearly fifty countries, and has sold over twenty-five million copies of her novels worldwide. Two of her books have been adapted as films and she has created several TV series. 

                      

                                  

 

Holly Kennedy, 29, has just become a widow when the novel opens, her husband Gerry her best friend, lover and soul mate having succumbed to a brain tumor. Holly slogs through aimless days and nights with only memories to keep her afloat until her mother reminds her of an envelope she received in the mail just before Gerry's death. The notes inside are labeled with the remaining months of the year, March to December, and each one contains a tip, written by Gerry as he was dying, to help Holly get on with her life. The first instructs her to go shopping for a new outfit, which gets her out of her dirty jeans and Gerry's T-shirts; July's note sends her on a vacation to Spain for a week with her two best friends, September pushes her to get out and look for her "best job ever," and December, the last note, encourages Holly not to be afraid to fall in love again.

                    Gradually, Holly emerges from her depression. Armed with a new job in charge of advertising for a trendy magazine, she is constantly busy with her long-time friends, who serve as the vehicles for Ahern's comic side. They drag Holly along to "hen parties," shopping trips and balls against her wishes. Side plots focus on Holly's family, who include her doting parents, a stodgy older brother who emerges as one of her staunchest supporters, and her younger sister, pink-haired and flaky, who can always make Holly laugh.

                          The book shows how families can be brought back together in hard times and how friendships can be stretched. The characters felt so real that I was carried along on the roller coaster of feelings that Holly was having, often bringing me to tears. This is testament to how effective Ahern is at evoking emotion thorough her writing.Well-crafted, beautifully written and deliciously romantic. If you need a good cry, a good laugh and an insightful look at family dynamics, then this is the book for you. For everyone who has lost someone or who fears losing someone, you need to read this!