Genre: YA Contemporary
Published: June 3, 2014 by HarperTeen
Length: 352 pages
Source: HarperTeen (ARC)
“Born with cerebral palsy, Amy can’t walk without a walker, talk without a voice box, or even fully control her facial expressions. Plagued by obsessive-compulsive disorder, Matthew is consumed with repeated thoughts, neurotic rituals, and crippling fear. Both in desperate need of someone to help them reach out to the world, Amy and Matthew are more alike than either ever realized.
When Amy decides to hire student aides to help her in her senior year at Coral Hills High School, these two teens are thrust into each other’s lives. As they begin to spend time with each other, what started as a blossoming friendship eventually grows into something neither expected.”
Dang! This book is so good! This is the type of book where you’ll keep flipping the page until you realize it’s past midnight. Although told in 3rd person point of view (which is not my preference) it was so easy to relate to these characters. There are a lot of dialogues and e-mail conversations in this book which makes you forget that it’s actually being told in 3rd person. It is also a dual point of view between our two main characters, Amy and Matthew. Amy was born with cerebral palsy and as a result, she has to walk with a walker and use a voice box in order to speak while Matthew has an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
What I loved most about this book is that it’s very realistic and unpredictable. There are a lot of life lessons in this book such as life will lead us into what we least expected. I also like how Amy’s parents are involved. I understand how her mother wants to do what she thinks is for the best for Amy, but she also needs to learn how to let go. Amy is independent, smart, and brave and I admire her for that. It amazes me how she does not give up even though she has a lot of weight on her shoulders. What I also liked about Say What You Will is the friendship. This book explains that we should not have to “try hard” in order to be accepted or to have friends. The only thing I was iffy about is Amy and Matthew’s relationship.
Overall it was a fantastic read, and this is a book that is great to give to a friend, relative, stranger, whatever as a gift because there are a lot of life lessons (like I said!). I think everyone should read this book and not just young adults because it’s very eye opening and revolves around a diverse topic. This is definitely a must read if you’re looking for character development, friendship, family, and a diverse book.
Little Book Star 
That was a lovely review, Leigh! I’m so excited to read this one but now I know I won’t be reading it at night since I probably won’t be able to stop reading this too hahaha. I seriously need to get some sleep what with all the staying up all night I’ve been doing the past days! Anyway, I’m so happy to hear you loved this one and even happier to hear that it’s realistic and unpredictable- two things I always want in contemporaries but rarely seem to get! I hope I can pick this one up very soon!
For some reason, I thought you already read this book? haha anyways, I’m so glad you’re giving this book a go! And yes, don’t read it at night (unless you want to stay up or you’re almost done with the book). You HAVE to let me know your thoughts + I’ll keep an eye out for your review.
This sounds fantastic! The characters just sound like they’d be really likeable. Although if the romance is kinda crappy….
But also email conversations! I love it when authors use different mediums for the narrative 😀
For the romance part, I think that’s just me haha but you should definitely give this book a go! There’s so much more to my review (I’m almost always vague in the way I summarize a book).
I just bought this book today, and now I can’t wait to start reading it! I’m really looking forward to Amy and Matt’s friendship 🙂
Ahhhh happy reading! I’m so excited for you to read it. I’ll def. keep an eye out on your review. 😀 You have to let me know your thoughts especially about the ending.
My thoughts exactly! This is SUCH a beautiful, realistic book. The 3rd person narration – for me personally – made it a bit hard to connect to the characters, but I’m glad you didn’t find it to be a problem!
Like you said, this has such great diversity, romance, and character development. It really does have something for everyone! Thanks for sharing Leigh, and, as always, BRILLIANT review! ❤ Glad you enjoyed it! 😀
For some reason, if a book has a lot of dialogues but in 3rd person then I am able to connect with the characters (unless the characters are not relatable at all). Aw thank you. 😀 Glad you liked the book, too!
I’ll be reading this one this week! I’m glad to hear that it’s a great friendship book. I’ve been paying a lot of attention to friendships as I read lately, so I think I would really like this one. 🙂
Yay! It’s really good. Can’t wait to read your review on it!
I keep seeing this book around, and now I’m really intrigued. The main characters aren’t ones that I usually read about, so this should be a nice change. Definitely going to keep my eyes out for this one. 😀
For some reason I love books that have email conversations or chats. Maybe because it’s a change from the ordinary? I’m also really glad it breaks away from typical characters as well. Sounds like a good champion of the DiversifYA movement! Good review. 🙂
What was the relationship like? Was it insta-love?
I love books that are different, too!
It wasn’t insta-love, their relationship was just so weird. For example, Matthew would do something horrible to Amy, but Amy would kind of just brush it off and they won’t talk about it.
I’ve been looking forward to this book, so I’m glad it lived up to the unique idea!! I will definitely be picking this book up!
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
It did! So excited for you to read it. 🙂