Lezersrecensie
Touching story
I had chosen the book at the time partly because I had and have a charm bracelet myself. Back in my childhood, I had a simple silver one with small charms afterwards, which, in my memory, I also received at special events. I haven't worn this bracelet since I was an adult because I found it a bit childish, but the idea of a charm bracelet with charms that you buy or get on special occasions kept haunting me. So when I read and heard about Pandora and Trollbeads, I immediately went to see if one of these two brands might be for me. I ultimately chose Trollbeads because Pandora's charms fit Trollbeads' and otherwise this would not be the case. Meanwhile, I have a fine collection of charms myself, all of which I have a memory with.
But on to the book. The book starts with an advertisement that a precious charm bracelet was lost on 31 August 2017, adding the place where it was last seen and saying there is a reward for the finder with an email address. Then follows an email from Leila to one Caitlin who found her charm bracelet and she will explain to this Caitlin the story behind each charm.
The book then starts on 30 August 2001, where the then nearly 12-year-old Leila finds a bracelet on her bed with a heart charm attached and a note saying Sorry. Her father then storms into her room and tells her that her mother, who is also his wife, has left them.
Six months later, on the day she and her father move out, she meets the new tenants of their old house: Jake and his parents. Jake has a father who changes jobs quite often and consequently the family has also moved several times. Jake gets to know Leila while she is waiting for her father in the car and they get into a conversation while she plays with her bracelet.
A year and a half later, Leila and her father move back to Bournemouth and go to live with her grandfather, who lives on the same street where they lived at the time. Jake is at the same school Leila goes to and so they meet again. Chapters are therefore occasionally written from Jake's name and in this way you see him grow from teenager to a young man.
That Jake and Leila are becoming a couple is of course obvious from the first chapter when Leila emails about her bracelet but their joint adventures and happenings you don't know yet. Nor the stories behind the various charms. That's what you will discover throughout the book, the way the charms are connected to Leila's life.
Something I found a bit strange was that after the whole story, suddenly there was another chapter in e-mail form as if the whole book was an e-mail. That felt a bit odd to me. But the way the book ends...yes, that was something I did not see coming but if you have read Me before you then I think you know.
But on to the book. The book starts with an advertisement that a precious charm bracelet was lost on 31 August 2017, adding the place where it was last seen and saying there is a reward for the finder with an email address. Then follows an email from Leila to one Caitlin who found her charm bracelet and she will explain to this Caitlin the story behind each charm.
The book then starts on 30 August 2001, where the then nearly 12-year-old Leila finds a bracelet on her bed with a heart charm attached and a note saying Sorry. Her father then storms into her room and tells her that her mother, who is also his wife, has left them.
Six months later, on the day she and her father move out, she meets the new tenants of their old house: Jake and his parents. Jake has a father who changes jobs quite often and consequently the family has also moved several times. Jake gets to know Leila while she is waiting for her father in the car and they get into a conversation while she plays with her bracelet.
A year and a half later, Leila and her father move back to Bournemouth and go to live with her grandfather, who lives on the same street where they lived at the time. Jake is at the same school Leila goes to and so they meet again. Chapters are therefore occasionally written from Jake's name and in this way you see him grow from teenager to a young man.
That Jake and Leila are becoming a couple is of course obvious from the first chapter when Leila emails about her bracelet but their joint adventures and happenings you don't know yet. Nor the stories behind the various charms. That's what you will discover throughout the book, the way the charms are connected to Leila's life.
Something I found a bit strange was that after the whole story, suddenly there was another chapter in e-mail form as if the whole book was an e-mail. That felt a bit odd to me. But the way the book ends...yes, that was something I did not see coming but if you have read Me before you then I think you know.
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