An Endearing Life/Love Story that's Worth the Wait

**This review is for the book and the audiobook**

Truth be told, the nature of Val's personality and some of the characters' truly abhorrent behaviour throughout the story had, unfortunately, caused me some aggro moments whilst reading which dampened my enjoyment of reading the story thoroughly. The only saving grace (bless!) for me was Susan. I wish she had more scenes in it. Despite being the other MC, it was evident that White chose to focus on Val's journey. Whilst I know real life doesn't always come with redemption or a change of heart, mind and behaviour, rather, it's more common that people tend to fall into the stereotypical human condition without a hint of any change, I was still wishing, as I read through the book, that Val would eventually shed her [pardon my French!] doormat behavioural trait.

But then, I also knew that it meant White really hit the nail on the head in portraying a brutally honest and uncomfortably realistic character in Val(entine), who was unapologetically steadfast and comfortable (enough) in her own skin even though at times she hated not being able to stand up to the bullies in her life and speak up for herself.

Here's where I truly appreciate White's honesty in portraying a doormat - that sometimes, someone like Val would have an acute outburst of her real feelings in reaction (soft retaliation) to a personal attack, albeit after the umpteenth time. White absolutely nails the nuance of that moment of uncharacteristic jolt of anger after being triggered one too many times. Everyone has a line. I know people in my life who're exactly like Val and I must say, I'd be so aggro when I saw unfair things happening to them which they'd just allow to happen even though they made them very sad or furious especially with people's unkindness, pettiness, all-around arsehole-ry, yet they just took the blows to their emotional and mental/psychological sense of being. Infuriating moments of observation.

So, when I was reading Val's predicament, with her own family treating her with such contempt and she just absorbed the blows, however ridiculous, allowing them to get off scott-free just brought back all the memories of me having observed similar situations in people I knew and I wanted to stop reading. But I persisted because I realised that it was most probably White's intention of provoking that emotion in those of us who would otherwise fight back or stand up, and also putting a mirror in front of those readers who might be in the same boat as Val. With that mindset, I'd say White has succeeded. At least for me. I would never stand for injustice, bad faith, unsavoury behavior, all-around arseholes who are begging to be scolded or walloped! But then, when I'm being forced to read about Val and her default doormat/submissive behaviour and delve into her inner psyche, I'm being reminded that there are people out there who just chose to be that way and nobody has the right to force them to be someone they're not. So, who am I to say otherwise, right?

For me personally, Val's character serves as a reminder of a few people I've known in my life who didn't choose to be like that, rather, it's just their nature. And they have a way of going through life in their own terms. It doesn't matter if others agree or not because at the end of the day, it's their innate right to choose how to live and go through their lives. It's all about the human experience, good or bad, right or wrong, light or dark. It's personal. For that, White did her job in showcasing the contrast between Val and Susan. Not that Susan didn't have her own character idiosyncrasies as well but she was the very character who'd never, ever allow anyone to bulldoze her in any way, shape or form. So, it was an ideal contrast between the 2 characters to explore and contemplate the state of the human condition whilst going through life's trials and tribulations, reconciling what we can or can't change.

Now, listening to Abby Craden portray these characters, with her tremendous zeal in navigating her wide range of vocal artistry, only further amplified the emotional effects that were hidden in-between the lines. In particular, Val's constant turmoil when faced with verbal cruelty that she could never confront that weighed heavily on her, was portrayed through choreographing her voice in such delicate subtlety that spoke emotional volumes. The effect was acutely more visceral than reading it. I could feel it in my gut, this suffocating sense of helplessness and frustration, the silent aggravation simmering just beneath the surface.. And it was all down to Craden being able to embody that level of raw authenticity in her voice to bring this quietly-charged story and its realistic characters to life.

I absolutely enjoyed Susan's clearly neurodivergent character, her distinct peculiarities so vividly personified by Craden that it resonated endearingly within me. What a welcome contrast from Val's in every way, especially in the art of communication. Susan's was always clear, concise, honest and dare I say, unrelenting! So well-written and understood by White/Craden for both of these imperfectly perfect souls!

Again, I wonder if White deliberately crafted them this way so that we could appreciate the beauty of polar opposites eventually coming together in union through the power of love. But not before going through their fair share of angst! Such is the life that we are given to explore in this realm we call the human experience, innit? As the saying goes, "the hardest things in life yields the biggest rewards."

In other words, true love is... "Worth the Wait," as White so aptly titled this story! I see what you did there, White! Brilliant motif! Well done! Another great collaboration between White and Craden.

Read the words. Listen to the visual voice. Experience it.

Vous avez donné votre avis sur cette évaluation.

Vous avez donné votre avis sur cette évaluation.