73 - Reading Riot no. 5

This week, I read Beautiful Disaster, by Jamie McGuire. Same author as the Providence series.

This book is definitely more mature than the Providence series, but the quality of the writing is better. I finished this book the same day that I started it. It could still be classified as teen fiction... I'd probably put it in that in-between stage. Not quite adult fiction and not quite teen fiction.

It's about Abby Abernathy, a college freshman from Wichita, Kansas, who wants to put her life as far away as possible from her past. However, she meets and befriends Travis Maddox early on in the year and soon realizes that he is exactly what she's trying to run away from. Her feelings conflict between wanting to run away from her past and giving into her deep feelings for Travis. 

I don't really know how to explain why I loved this book so much... I guess I liked that Abby and Travis' relationship wasn't perfect. Both of them needed work but they still needed each other. Maybe their relationship was unrealistic and unhealthy at first, but the love was perfect love. 

The moral I got out of this story was that you don't always get to choose who you fall in love with. Sometimes it can be the person you least expect. But that doesn't mean it isn't beautiful. 

There are a couple quotations from the book that I found particularly poignant. 

[Abby talking to her roommate.]
"It's dangerous to need someone that much. You're trying to save him and he's hoping you can. You two are a disaster."
I smiled at the ceiling. "It doesn't matter what or why it is. When it's good, Kara... it's beautiful." 

"You know why I want you? I didn't know I was lost until you found me. I didn't know what alone was until the first night I spent without you in my bed. You're the one thing I've got right. You're what I've been waiting for." 

I love the concept of a beautiful disaster. It's what life is, right? Life is never perfect. You never remember everything you need to, you never say all the right words, you never  ace all of your tests, you never make everyone happy always. Everyone has baggage and everyone has problems. But love? It doesn't matter if it's crazy, mellow, frustrating, nonsensical, or disastrous. If it's truly love for both people, not just infatuation or lust, it's always beautiful.