Review: I Want to Hold Your Hand by Stephanie Blackburn

Review: I Want to Hold Your Hand by Stephanie Blackburn

I Want To Hold Your Hand Stephanie Blackburn Paperback 466 Published July 1st, 2013 Young Adult Copy provided by author in Exchange for an honest review Goodreads/Amazon

On a frigid February night in New Hampshire the car Penny is riding in loses control and crashes passenger-side first into a tree. When she wakes up the next morning she can’t understand why her mother and sister are ignoring her, until she accidentally sticks her hand through her mother and remembers the night before.A town away, Will is going about his senior year of high school on autopilot. He can’t work up the courage to tell his overbearing father that he doesn’t want to go to Boston College and study Business, his ex-girlfriend doesn’t understand the concept of being broken up, and he’s tired of feeling like his life is all an act. Thinking she’s dead and wishing for a respite from her family’s grief, Penny is drawn to a house party where she meets Will, who miraculously can see her though no one else can. In the off-limits living room at the back of the house, with music thumping and their peers making fools of themselves nearby, Penny and Will begin a relationship that will make both of them question the decisions that have brought them to where they are and force them to jointly take a leap of faith.

I Want to Hold Your Hand is a great contemporary novel (with a very minor paranormal aspect. VERY minor, so if you are scared of ghost or anything, please know this is NOT your typical ghost story and is more of a very REAL out of body experience) This book reminds me a lot of Just like heaven or even Ghost of girlfriends past, but not. I say but not because those movies were a little more funny/lighthearted and this book does have its fun cute moments, but it is a little deeper in the emotion area which I like.
This book follows two teenagers Penny and Will whom are both going through difficult times. Penny has just found out that she is a ghost. She was in an auto accident and when she woke up to go downstairs to see her mom and sister, They couldn't see/hear her. But there is one person who can see Penny and that is Will. Will is a sweet boy who has an overbearing father that wants him to attend Boston University even though he has no interest. He also has a psycho ex who cannot seem to understand they are done. Penny and Will take you on a very sweet and emotional journey that will love your heart exploding with joy at the end.
I Want to Hold Your Hand is told in Duel POV. I am a huge fan of alternating POV when done correctly, and Stephanie Blackburn totally nailed it. I could feel penny's emotions just oozing off the pages (Yes I cried a few times) I think most women young and old will be able to relate to penny (especially with the mother/daughter relationship) If you are into books about character growth, self-reflection, with a dash of romance this book will be for you!


A solid