Words of praise: Very powerful message. I was able to feel how scared she was during her encounters. Gave me chills.
Favorite line: "Man wanted religion. God simply desires a relationship."
Full review: I went into this thinking it was going to be incredibly scary and that I shouldn't read it at night or when I'm alone. So on a Sunday morning, I started reading Look Away in the living room with my husband present.
What I loved: Each chapter title/header gave me insight into what I was about to read. So if it was going to be scary, I knew to prepare myself. I also loved that I could feel the encounters. She gave great detail on each experience and left nothing to the imagination, which works for a story like this. I didn't want to imagine what she went through, I wanted to feel it. And I loved that although these were terrifying encounters for her, from childhood through adulthood, that Jo was brave enough to share them with her readers.
What I didn't love: This book is heavy on her religion. She spent a lot of time explaining her faith, more so than the actual encounters. Now I'm not saying that's a bad thing, because I learned a lot from her. But religion is not what I thought I'd be reading about. On the other hand, I completely understand why she had to talk so in depth about it. And honestly, it works for this book. If you're a believer, you'll be able to feel her faith. To feel her strength and the courage it took her to not only write about her encounters, but also to live through them. Her faith got her through it, and can we all say that we would come out the same way as she did? She came out stronger than she was before. Her faith was deeper than it was before.
My words of praise above came from a particular encounter, and it literally gave me chills to read it. Like I said, I could feel her fear, but in that scene, I could truly feel her faith. And it was beautiful.
Fiction books give you "the feels". You feel happy or sad when you're reading and when you finish, but I don't think that's the same kind of feeling you get with Look Away. I don't really know how to explain it, but this book was incredible, despite my lack of interest in religion. Her ability to tell a true story and make her readers feel exactly how she felt in those moments is amazing. The writing is impeccable. And if this is going to be a series, count me in for reading all of the others.
Oh, and my favorite line from above? That's exactly how I feel about religion. That line still resonates with me 23 days after reading this story.