For the record I am not an outwardly emotional person. Okay, let me get that right. I can be a bubbly energetic or excited individual from time to time. Of course, that isn't what I meant. I'm quite a content, optimistic kind of person so I am emotionally driven - very much so. What I mean to say is that I thrive in my life as a laconic, down to earth kind of person. I'm laid back and when it comes to outward expressions of emotion I tend to internalise. I would still consider myself an extroverted introvert it's just that it is very hard to visibly stun me, shock me or make me cry. I'm not insensitive. I just don't show my reactions most of the time.
So, why did I just spend countless sentences on my emotional personality? Mainly to try and convey the fact that this novel right here is one of the few to have rocked me emotionally. It made me raw at the end and it made me tear up. The film has a similar impact. In fact the film is a fairly strong adaptation of this sad, beautiful teardrop of a book.
Let me head off on another tangent. I love conclusions. Conclusions are almost my favourite part of any story, save for the fact that it means the book is over and you're left back in reality. However, for this book the conclusion was terrible, shocking, unacceptable. It was too emotionally moving. The happy ending I was expecting wasn't there. And that is why it is a brilliant book: trust me, read it and see if it doesn't touch you in some way. My one warning is that it is a children's novel of course.