Jacob Have I Loved - Katherine Paterson

Jacob Have I Loved
By Katherine Paterson

This book has broken my heart and then put the pieces back together so gently I didn’t even realize it was mended.

It was difficult for me to get into the beginning of Jacob Have I Loved. I thought I had read it before but it turned out to be a different book than I thought so I didn’t know what to expect. Then, I kept waiting for Jacob to appear. Who was he? What was his story?

Finally, about 50 pages in, I let go of waiting for Jacob and just fell into the story. I couldn’t put it down after that. The story grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. Then, it began shaving off pieces of my heart until it finally shattered what was left with one quick moment.

I knew it was coming. I could feel it about to happen. Well, I could feel the build-up that something was going down but at first I didn’t know if it was going to be good or bad. I just knew it was big. Then, I knew it was bad. I could see what was going to happen but she didn’t know yet. I wanted to shake her “don’t you know what is going to come next?” Then, she knew, and I was heartbroken. I didn’t know if we would ever recover but by the end of the book I was yelling “don’t forget the first one.” And after all that I closed the book with a smile on my face.

I love Louise and though she lived a very different life from me, so much of her felt familiar. Oh Jacob Have I Loved, how I have loved you.

*I read this book as part of the Shelf Discovery Challenge.

**Source: I bought this book with my own sweet loot.