Review: The Bucket List

''Running away is not the solution. You have- we have- to enjoy every moment we get to have.''

★★★★★

Damon and Leah. Leah and Damon. I've read their story. I cried, a lot, so if you're about to embark on it, you are warned. 

Damon and Leah were best friends for fifteen years. They did everything together until The Thing happened. Afterwards, they separated and never heard from each other again. Until Damon moves to the house next to Leah's. Many things have changed since they last saw each other. Leah's in college, living with her new best friend. Damon, on the other hand, is suffering. Diagnosed with an incurable sickness he is set out on living the most out of his final year. And that is how The Bucket List starts.

How is this so hard? I've prolonged writing this review five days now and even now it feels hard. Maybe that's the real power of books. They affect us so strongly.

The story might be a bit cheesy for some. But not for me. There were a lot of cliches and predictable turns. Those cliches made me laugh, made me live the events and most importantly gave me hope. And hope was what popped out to me as the most destroying element of the book. None of us wants to see our loved ones dying. And the way Emily Ruben has written the book depict the hope one has when facing an impossibility. Even though, I'd like to think myself as one of those who thinks everything is possible until proven otherwise. There's always a window or a chimney if you can't use the door. 

The book is written from Leah's point of view. She is so down to earth kind of girl. At twenty she has amazingly figured out the importance of the people around us. The things that matter the most to her. And when Damon drops the bomb she jumps right in the middle. Of course, she is scared, she is sad and torn, like all of us would be, if told our best friend would die soon. The way she deals with her emotions is just realistic. Being afraid to show them and then just crashing down all at once. I've met a lot of characters and I must say that Leah became part of my favourite group of characters, as did Damon.

Onto Damon. You ruined me for love. All those gestures and places you took me made me fall in love with you. As insane it is, I might not be the only one who feels this way after turning the last page. Damon's entire character was a perfect mix of charm and tragic. Making you laugh and cry and fall in love over and over again. Although, sometimes the trips were a bit overboard, but nonetheless, unforgettable.

The story is light and romantic and sometimes you almost forget that nothing is wrong. Then, when you least expect it, you are brutally reminded that Damon has a limited amount of time left. This feels horrible even in the beginning and the feeling increases by every page you turn. And the best thing is that this was one of the elements that made this book great. The subtle reminders of how fragile life is.

Some events that happened in the book felt a bit unrealistic. Some things were hard to believe that they actually could happen, but then again, if you have a year left why would you hold back?

'' Maybe if he had been in a hospital bed, or weak and bald from chemo, it would have been easier to accept how sick he really was. Perhaps the idea of him dying would have made more sense.''