Ok, this time it wasn't my fault.  I started reading this book on a 2 hour train ride to visit a friend and on the second 2 hour train ride to go home, I finished it.  It wasn't a thick book and it was an easy read.  Maybe the next book will be longer and therefore give me time to tell you about it half way.

While I did like this book, I didn't have a "wow this was awesome" kind of feeling.  I'm not sure if the book was meant to have one.  It was a basic story about a girl who embarks on her first relationship and looses her virginity in the process.  Nothing all too remarkable about it.  I did think that Kristen Tracey did a good job in describing the moment.  After reading it, I thought "Yup, that sounds about right."  I also did get that nostalgic feeling I get whenever I read about teenage romances always remembering what it was like for me when I was that age.  What I didn't understand was the whole diabetic thing.

The male in the story recovered from Leukemia and then had a friend who had diabetes.  When he meets our protagonist, she had a clumsy moment and drops a box of apple juice.  Rather than feeling embarrassed, she explains it's for her diabetes.  Then in the end, the hamster she buys for him also has diabetes.  I get the purpose of the last one, the boy needed to find the truth out some how, but what I don't get was the overall purpose.  He gets mad at her for lying about the diabetes, saying she doesn't understand what it's like to have an illness (he does because of the Leukemia).  And maybe that's why.  I just didn't get it.

Dear Borders in Downtown Crossing Boston,

Today I say goodbye to you, my dear, as you close your doors forever.  I couldn't go by there today for fear of shedding a tear for the place I once called my second home. 

You got a shit load of money out of me, but what I got in return more than made up for the depletion in my bank account almost every week.  I got a place where I could go and spend my time in between classes at Emerson, before meeting up with friends on a Friday night, while killing time until my morning bus ride to NY or just because I needed a placed to get out of the rain.  I spent countless hours browsing through your books, drinking hot cocoa at the cafe, sitting in a chair reading or getting some writing in.  I don't know what I'm going to do without you.

I'm afraid to think about what will happen to your location, what high-end store will take your place and if I'll feel comfortable going into that area and not seeing your side-walk book sale that always got my attention.  Will that corner of Downtown crossing ever be the same?  It was sad enough to see the Barnes and Nobel leave that area, but this goodbye is heart wrenching.  For I know, that while B&N may have the opportunity to return, I will never see the black and red of your Borders sign again. 

So, I wanted to take this time to bid farewell to a friend I will never forget.  Thank you for always being there for me.  You will be missed.

Forever,
Melissa