Love You Hate You Miss You by Elizabeth Scott

Book Synopsis:

Get this, I'm supposed to be starting a journal about "my journey." Please. I can see it now: Dear Diary, As I'm set adrift on this crazy sea called "life" . . . I don't think so.

It's been seventy-five days. Amy's sick of her parents suddenly taking an interest in her.

And she's really sick of people asking her about Julia. Julia's gone now, and she doesn't want to talk about it. They wouldn't get it, anyway. They wouldn't understand what it feels like to have your best friend ripped away from you.

They wouldn't understand what it feels like to know it's your fault.

Amy's shrink thinks it would help to start a diary. Instead, Amy starts writing letters to Julia.

But as she writes letter after letter, she begins to realize that the past wasn't as perfect as she thought it was—and the present deserves a chance too.

My thoughts:
Amy is in pain. Emotional, physical and mental anguish. Her best friend, Julia, is dead. Amy believes she is responsible for her death.

Amy is leaving rehab and returning to life she no longer knows. Her parents are more involved in her life, she's in honors classes at school and she's seeing her therapist weekly. Prior to Julia's death, Amy drank. She drank to fit in, drank to feel numb and empty, drank to just be. Now, she doesn't have Julia or a drink to help her cope. She feels all alone, until she meets Patrick.

Actually, Amy met Patrick before, but he has since become a distant memory. Patrick is dealing with his own loss which left him withdrawn and aloof. Both Amy and Patrick are drawn to each other as they continue to move forward with their lives. Each struggles with his/her own loss in a different way.

Amy begins to process the events that occured the night Julia dies. Amy is adamant that she caused Julia's death. It's with the help of Patrick and her therapist that she begins to see the truth about that night and her friendship with Julia. The fog that her grief left behind is slowly lifting and Amy is able to finally able to accept what happened that night: the choices she and Julia made.

Love You Hate You Miss You is about the emptiness, loneliness, guilt and regret one feels after someone has died. You wake up one morning to a life that you no longer know, a life that no longer makes sense. Written in Amy's perspective and her letters to Julia, Love You Hate You Miss You is a compelling read. Ms. Scott writes a touching story bringing together two people who cannot see beyond their hurt and pain.

A quote to share:

"People forget stuff like that, " Patrick said, and in his eyes I could see he knew exactly what I'd been thinking. What I'd just remembered. "Stuff that...something happens that changes your whole life, and people tell you how sorry they are and all that, but then, after a while, it's like you're the only one who remembers. It'll happen to you too. People will forget what happened to Julia. They'll forget her." (p. 107)

Book details:
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-112283-5
Pages: 276
Year Published: 2009
Genre: YA Fiction
Date Finished: August 26
Rating: A-