Point of Retreat (Slammed II) by Colleen Hoover : My thoughts

I know that after reading I have a lot to say but now I don't know where to start, just like in Slammed. Oh wait, I remember that beautiful poem about writing mentioned in the book. It's entitled Write Poorly by Edmund Davis-Quinn. It's an inspiration for those people like me who most of the time got stuck up in I-don't-know-what-to-write moments. You can find the whole poem in the book or in the blog of Mr. Edmund. I just feel I have the need to post his poem together with my review since from his work I feel someone's nudging my shoulder and telling me to just write, just do it.

Write poorly
Suck
Write awful
Terribly
Frightfully
Don’t care
Turn off the inner editor
Let yourself write
Let it flow
Let yourself fail
Do something crazy
Write 50,000 words in the month of November
I did it.
It was fun, it was insane it was 1,667 words a day.
It was possible.
But, you have to turn off your inner critic, off, completely.
Just write.
Quickly.
In Bursts.
With joy.
If you can’t write run away for a few.
Come back.
Write again.
Writing is like anything else.
You won’t get good at it immediately.
It’s a craft you have to keep getting better.
You don’t get to Juliard, unless you practice.
If you want to get to Carnagie Hall, practice, practice, practice.
(or give them a lot of money).
Like anything else it takes 10,000 hours to get to mastery.
Just like Malcolm Gladwell says.
So write.
Fail.
Get your thoughts down.
Let it rest.
Let it marinate.
Then edit. Then edit. Then edit.
But don’t edit as you type,
that just slows the brain down.
Find a daily practice,
for me it’s blogging every day.
And it’s fun.
The more you write, the easier it gets. The more it is a flow, the less a worry. It’s not for school, it’s not for a grade, it’s just to get your thoughts out there. You know they want to come out.
So keep at it. Make it a practice. And write poorly, write awfully, write with abandon and it may end up being really, really good.

See, his words are like magic. They are some sort of a force that wakes up your inner and sleeping writer side to come out of its shell. Ok so I'm just gonna write.

Warning: Better if you have read the Slammed first before jumping into an endless battle with your patience while reading my review of Point of Retreat. I don't want you throwing pillows to me because I'll be revealing the juicy parts of the first book.

We are left in awe while our heart's constricting in pain with Julia's letter to Lake and Kel in Slammed. Now that Julia is gone, what's gonna happen next? Lake has a lot of responsibilities in her back now that she'll be not just a sister but a mother to his little brother Kel. But with Will on her side everything seems to be more bearable. Now that both of them are placed in the same situation, with no parents at their side, how is Will gonna prove to Lake that what he feels for her is not something that blooms out of their conditions in life? And with Will's past showing up in the scene, how will Lake finds in her heart to trust Will?

I don't know that it's even possible for a person to feel a combination of fear, anxiety, sadness, and happiness in a short time like a minute. I thought I'm crazy. Or maybe I am that time. That's how this book has affected my sanity. Those emotions that I rarely feel when reading has been awakened mostly within the last chapters. If you thought you're caught in an emotional roller coaster ride in Slammed, forget that, you'll be a total wreck while reading Point of Retreat. Damn, those last chapters, I never know when's the last time I felt so angry in a book that I am considering to give it less than a star in rating. She's so good, Ms. Hoover might have perfected the art of giving heart stopping scenes that made me paced my room as my anxiety is increasing, my palms were sweaty and my heart was doing somersaults. Although I definitely hate to be in that predicament I think it is one of the strengths of the book, yeah it’s bad to suck up the sanity of a person while reading but after everything else I concluded how a great job this book has done to me. E-M-O-T-I-O-N  W-R-E-C-K-E-R at its best!!!

Oh by the way, this one is told in Will’s POV and it’s a pretty long one. Books written in a guy’s view has always piqued my interest and I definitely loved Ms. Hoover’s idea of telling the second part of the series in Will’s. I never imagined that it’s possible for some guy to have crazy thoughts over a girl and Ugh I loved Will for that. Just like this one “She’s wearing her hair down tonight. I love it when she wears her hair down. I also love it when she wears it up. In fact, I don’t think she’s ever worn it in a way that made me not love it. She’s so incredibly beautiful...especially when she’s not trying to be.” Oh God! I hope some guy in the future will be having the same thoughts over me, I need some WILL-power in my system. HAHA :)

You’ve also met the lovesick couple, Gavin and Eddie, in Slammed and this time those two will have a longer exposure while having to deal with their own issues. I love Eddie’s sense of humor since Slammed and if you put another little Eddie in the picture, Kiersten, how crazy the whole thing would be. Oh wait, Kiersten is not a daughter of Eddie, she’s this little girl gifted with an uncanny ability to cuss!!!! I am laughing so loudly while reading her lines; she’s someone to look forward to so I wouldn’t tell further more about her, no spoiling I promise.

And oh, there is something about the stars in the picture above. You’ll find the idea amazing why it is even put in the story. There you go, a poem, some Will’s past, an emotion wrecker situation, a Kiersten, some stars, and so much more. Whew, that’s a lot waiting for you in Point of Retreat!!! Hope you’ll love it to death the way I did.

Ratings: 5++++
Copy: Ebook
Read: May 16, 2012