Love You Forever Book

Love you forever, Stalk you for always . . . .

***Ok, in response to the haters: let me state that I do not mind one bit that many people have been touched and uplifted and LOVE this book. It just doesn't work for me. At all. And I'm allowed to have a different opinion that you.***


. . . let me say first that I understand this is an allegory about unconditional love between parent/child . . . but does this book come off a little creepy to anyone else?

1) It starts out ok . . . but about the time the kid gets to be a teenager I just start to feel uncomfortable. Would I be ok with my mom slipping into my teenage brothers' rooms while they're sleeping to cuddle and sing a love song? No, probably not.

2) I think it's weird there's only female figures mentioned (mom and grandma). Where's the dad? (later when the mom is sick the only pictures on her wall are of the kid, no husband or parents -- again, kinda weird) And later on in the book when the kid is grown up where is the mom to his baby - single dads are awesome but the absence of characters is chilling here.

3) This mom I seriously think has issues with letting her children go. Once a man gets married the woman in their life isn't you--it's the wife! And when children grow up and become adults and you should have an adult-to-adult relationship with them. Quit trying to cuddle them!

4) When it gets to the part of the old woman tying a ladder to her roof and driving across town with the lights off, then sneaking in the son's window to cuddle and sing the love song --- I just want to scream, " AAAGH, she's coming!! Lock the windows!! RUN!!!" creee-py!

5) Okay, just think about if this dad goes on to have the same behavior with his own daughter. The dad sneaking in on the teenage daughter to hold her, or later on when she's married he's climbing through her window to her bed????

6) I really don't think it's good writing. With children's books I like them to have rhyme and rhythm and be easy to read. I felt like I was stumbling over words.

7) Despite all this Ellie still likes the book, and I see the point it's trying to make, although I don't agree with the method. And I know I'm being too literal, but seriously if you look at this book literally it will give you nightmares!!! Just for fun read it to someone purposefully trying to be creepy - just as an experiment. Trust me, you'll agree with me after that.

Darik doesn't necessarily like it when I call the book:

Love you forever,
Stalk you for always . . .

But I do anyways :-)