Everything Left Unsaid

by Jessica Davidson

[Angie]

This probably makes me a horrible person, but in general, cancer books just don’t make me cry. I consider myself super emotional, but these stories just don’t hit me for whatever reason. Everything Left Unsaid is without a doubt a great book, and very very depressing, but I just didn’t get the emotional kick I was hoping for. It follows Juliet and Tai, life-long best friends who have finally admitted to their feelings for each other. Nearly as soon as their relationship begins, Tai learns that he has less than a year to live. What follows is a super sad story that doesn’t really spare any of the details of Tai’s illness. It’s like a really bad thunder storm, but there’s no rainbow the next day.

One issue that I had with Everything Left Unsaid was Juliet and her mother. I couldn’t believe some of things that they said as Tai’s illness progresses. Juliet’s mom actually tries to ground her! Why in the world would she want to keep her daughter away from her best friend and boyfriend when he only has limited time left?! I do understand that she wanted her daughter to keep up with her studies, but university will still be there in a year, while Tai won’t. She’s also worried about them having sex, but seriously, they’re 17, in love and don’t have much time together. Get over it! Then at the end Juliet herself began to frustrate me. She complains that Tai doesn’t text her all day long anymore and denies her invites to hang out. Um, he’s too sick to even sit up in bed most days! How do you expect him to do everything he was able to before?! She even says things like the following:

“He’s sick. Every time I see him he’s sicker, and his parents have taken him and his brothers away for Christmas. It’s like what I want doesn’t even matter. It’s just happening to me and I can’t do anything about it.“

Excuse me? God forbid his parents want to have one last family holiday with their dying son! Juliet, this is not about you! You are not the only one about to lose him! Selfish!

Anyway, other than the above, I did enjoy Everything Left Unsaid. I felt awful for Tai as he struggles to come to terms with his death. He has major decisions to make but doesn’t really have the physical or emotional strength to make them. His relationship with Juliet was very sweet in the beginning and they have some seriously mushy scenes together, even as his illness gets worse. However, in the end, it was just another cancer book that failed to make the world’s biggest crybaby shed even a single tear. I do think it’s worth reading though if you have access to it.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.