If You Could See Me Now, Cecelia Ahern

Since my exams are nearly over, I decided to pick this one for a quick review. If You Could See Me Now, by Cecelia Ahern. If you're a fan of YA, you might have noticed this name before. She's also the author of P.S., I Love You, which I remember being a bomb in 2007.

I read this book this same time last year. Well I was supposed to be studying for my exams, but this one caught my eyes, and I spent a whole night not studying, just to finish it (I feel so guilty, LOL). But it was worthy, and I never regret picking up this one. It's a great combination of love, friendship and just a slight touch of magic.

Plot:

Elizabeth Egan is a business woman, literally. She likes everything to be in order, her life, her work, even her emotions. She's strict to herself and to everyone. Maybe that's the way she copes with all the disorder around her: a mother who left when she was little, a distant father, a regularly-drunk sister and a 6 year old nephew (Luke) that she has to take care of. She has sacrificed her childhood for everyone she loves, and now she just can't seem to have fun anymore.

That was before Ivan, Luke's imaginary friend. Yes, imaginary friends do exist, but you can only see them when you truly need & and truly believe in them. Of course Elizabeth didn't believe in any of those stuffs, and Luke talking to someone unreal always bothered her. But she never thought she would gradually feel Ivan's presence. And it calms her. Turns out, Elizabeth really needs a friend, imaginary or not. Ivan brings her life many new colors, opens her eyes to many things she didn't see before. And Ivan even brings her love.

"If You Could See Me Now" is the story of Elizabeth's struggle to balance her own life, and her path of finding how to love again.

My review:

This story literally brings me to tear everytime I read it. To be honest, the beginning was quite slow. It's like an introduction of Elizabeth's past & her life, so it was a little boring & hard to understand at first. But when I got through a first few chapters, I was hooked. The plot was very original. I don't have kids, but I can imagine how children sometimes talk & play with their imaginary friends. What if they're real ? And what if your nephew's invisible friend is not a child, but a handsome tall guy who knows how to ease people's loneliness ? That idea really got me <3 Similar to a guardian angel, but in a (good) different way <3 I really like the characters. Each one of them got their own place in the story. Elizabeth might seem tough on the outside, but somewhere deep down inside her, she was seriously hurt. I can't help feeling sympathetic towards her, and admiring her because she was strong enough to lead her own life in her own way, despite those wounds. Ivan, on the other hand, was a funny guy. He was unique, and he knew how to make people realize the importance of even the smallest things. Well, I can imagine that if I were as lonely as Elizabeth, I would surely need someone just like Ivan <3 Elizabeth's sister & father were also interesting characters. It was a strange family, every member had their own wound and they couldn't find a way to deal with it. They couldn't face each other & they didn't know how to love each other. It was sad to think of a family like that, since my family is really really happy. This is also something I love about Cecelia's novels. They make me realize how much I already have, and that I must appreciate every little miracles in my life. Cecelia's writing is wonderful. It feels magical, light-hearted and somehow it touches me deeply. I really don't want to spoil the ending. After finishing this story, I found myself crying, but not because I was sad. Maybe I just didn't want it to end, or maybe the ending was so special that I felt like a relief. Really, it's like a combination of sadness and happiness. You have to read it to know how it feels like.

My ratings:
Plot: 9 (like I said, very original)
Character: 9
Writing: 9.5 (it's a 10 actually, but minus 0.5 for the boring beginning, haha)
Cover: 10 (okay, this wasn't actually the eye-catcher type, but it was beautiful in a simple way, right? And the dandelion was really IN the book, so the cover relates a lot to the story. Read it, and when you've finished it, come back to the cover. You'll see :D )

So that's my 3rd review. By now, you may be thinking that I only write the possitive type of review LOL. It's true, because when I started this blog, I only wanted to write about books I love. I want the whole world to know how beautiful a story is (like this one :D). If I don't like a book, I simply won't write about it. Other people might love it, and I don't want to hurt their feelings. Neither do I want to change someone's mind about reading a book (which they might like but they don't read it because they trust in my review, haha). After all, likes & dislikes are our own choices :P

But trust me, you really need to read this book. It's one of the most touching books I've ever read. I held my chest when I read it, and I felt like I needed to stop my heart from blowing.
Read it, and tell me how you feel about it :D

Thanks for reading. Love <3