The Sweet Gum Tree by Katherine AllredMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I am speechless....utterly speechless. How can I write a review for this??? Wowowowowowowow!!!!!
5+++++ stars!!! Wow! What an emotional journey!!!! I'm not even sure I can do this book justice with a review! It was so heart wrenching. I definitely empathized with Alix. If you haven't read this, please do yourself a favor an put it on your TBR list NEXT!!!
Alix fell in love with Nick at 8 years old when she decided to save him. Nick didn't have the home life that Alix had. Yet, he was always the protector. He wanted to protect Alix.
"I'll never let anybody hurt you again, Alix, I swear."
Nick always thought he would end up like his father. He went through life thinking he wasn't good enough, especially for Alix.
"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Alix. I'm not going to let anything hurt you, not even me. I figured I had to stay away from you for your own good." He had stayed away from her for part of their teenage years and broke her heart. After that silliness, they were inseparable (behind closed doors). She dated Hugh as a cover to appease her family. While Nick was keeping a secret from Alix, he asked her to trust him and she did. Finally, when it all came down to it, he essentially chose Lindsay. He was protecting her as well. From what? We don't know until the story wraps up. Amazingly enough, he never told Alix the truth and she hated him for all these years.
After he left for good, Alix fell apart. She offered to go with him or wait on him to come back.
"You can't destroy your life for me." [Nick says to Alix then she says] "I don't have a life without you." Wow, my heart broke into a few more pieces after that. All she wanted was to be with him. He didn't want her struggling to live life. He wanted her to have things that he couldn't give.
After he left for good, she turned to Hugh and he was there for her. He was comfortable and he was the only alternative. He bailed her out of the mess that Nick left in his wake.
(view spoiler)
Nick comes back and yet again her world is turned up side down. He wants to make it up to her. He wants to show her he only did it to protect her. She has spent the last 15 years blaming him for everything. She has built up a wall and doesn't feel anything anymore. She doesn't feel pain, joy, happy, sad, anything. Nick is trying to break her walls down and leaves her with this to think about:
"I love you. There hasn't been a single day in the last fifteen years that I haven't regretted not telling you when I had the chance. That house I'm working on next door? It's never been for me. I'm building it for you. Without you to share it, it will never be anything but an empty pile of boards."
Wowowowowow!!! So finally, the truth comes out and she finds out what really happens with Lindsay and then she lashes out at Nick. The ending was so intense. (view spoiler)
There were some main supporting characters I didn't mention in my review, but I knew Jenna had a huge secret. Also, the Judge was my favorite side character. He always let Alix make up her own decision and never chastised her for it. Her father came back as well and became a rock in her life.
Oh the epilogue...such an amazing story definitely needed this epilogue. I am satisfied and so happy with the epilogue...ESP the last paragraph!! I was an emotional mess reading this, but am so happy I did!! Now go read it!!
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