Stunned Speechless by Words at a Rather Alarming Hour

My heart is so full and I don't know what to say. A book has left me utterly speechless. The book in question? Just Ella by Annette K. Larsen.

This book is one of my all time favorites. I have a small, highly selective list of books that can make me fall in love with reading again when I've become disenchanted and lost sight of the magic, and this book makes the cut. I fell in love with Ella and Gavin from the first words they spoke, and I will treasure this one for a very long time.

I've been looking for a book that would make me fall in love with reading again. That would tug at my heartstrings and pull at my emotions and leave me incapable of handling the monotony of the real world. I needed some ink and paper friends, and I found them in Just Ella. So many things Ella felt in that book resonated with me. All of the exuberant happiness and crushing anguish she felt, I felt too. As I was devouring the ending, trying to savor every word while needing to finish as fast as I could, I felt consumed by everything. I could not for the life of me keep a smile so wide it split my face from my mouth. My heart ached and melted and burst in one messy explosion inside my chest. This. This is what reading should be. This is how reading should feel. An escape from reality. A window into seclusion. A haven where a halfway introverted word nerd like me can experience the full range of emotions without damage. Where I can make new friends and rekindle flickering hope. Where I can blissfully embrace all of my happiest dreams and wildest fantasies. This is where my true, utter, inconceivably wonderful happiness lies.

Sincerely, mad