Reviewed:
I just read this for the second time. I was more impressed this time than the first and found much that I'd either forgotten or hadn't picked up in the first reading.
Nollie kisses Sarah at Sarah's 16th birthday party and the lives of both are changed forever.
This is a very well done love story between two girls growing into women. The descriptions are sensitive and make the feelings between the two very clear. Everything is not rosy in this tale and that is one of the big attractions to me. While the author declares it to be fiction, it reads like real life. We see the girls going through suffering and pain along with the love and joy. It is definitely worth reading and reading a second time.
Technical quality is very good. I think I remember a couple of wording glitches in it but nothing to take away the impact of the story. It's a love story, not a stroke story and although there are some great descriptions of loving it doesn't get a high stroke score. I still think that's a flaw in the rating system. The emotional content is a 10 while the stroke rating is a 5.
Overall a great story for a fan of love stories that read like life, not fantasy. Highly recommended.
Reviewed: - (Review Updated: )
"Nollie" is a romantic love story. A very good romantic love story. The characters feel like real people - people you might have known in high school. Supermodels need not apply.
Sarah and Nollie meet at the former's 16th birthday party and sparks fly. Their love, along with the maternal love of Nollie's mother for both of them, form the basis of a story that seems like it could have been lifted from real life. No Olympic medals, rapes, kidnappings or murders here - just the gentle story of two people sharing a strong and abiding love for one another. They support each other during their tragedies and celebrate their triumphs together.
(edited after a re-reading)
In the time since writing my original review I've read a lot of love stories but I don't know that I've seen love presented anywhere as well as Janna has done her. The love and passion and romance that Sarah and Nollie share is shown with respect bordering on reverence.