Helpful Score: 12
Sometimes I look at the titles that are put on books and wonder why they're named that. Half the time they have nothing to do with the story at all. Here, the title actually has meaning. Annie is not what people think. No one has made the effort to discover the real her. It takes a special, though regrettable, set of circumstances and a special man to look past the stigma and listen closely enough to hear Annie's song.
The book starts out with a very disturbing event. Annie, the childlike town "idiot", is raped. The worst comes to pass and Annie becomes pregnant. Alex, the brother of the rapist, marries Annie to provide a home and name for the unborn child. He has no expectation of making the marriage a real one. He plans to go on with his life and expects Annie's nurse to keep her out of his way. Before long Alex find his view of Annie shaken. Soon he sees Annie in a new light and finds a love he never expected.
This story was so beautiful. The people in it are not perfect and they don't always do the right thing. I hated some of them at times, but even then, they seemed like real people making real mistakes.
Annie's mother comes off as a harsh, cruel woman. By the time Alex is getting to know the real Annie, you would be pleased if her mom would just die. You won't understand how a mother can treat her daughter like that. We, the reader, see the truth. Why is she denying it? It's frustrating and emotional, but eventually you learn to empathize with Annie's mother (even if you never really like her). That's what's so special about this story. There is no black and white. You find yourself wondering, "would I honestly have done such-and-such differently?" Then no matter what you feel, you can't help but admire her as she moves past her beliefs and tries to help her daughter live her new life.
Alex was a hard man to read at first. He had a view of Annie and a feel of entitlement to her baby that was frightening at times. I'm glad that the things that bothered me the most: his plans for Annie after the baby was born, his contact with his brother, etc. were all discussed eventually with Annie. I thought that was very mature and even though I disliked him at times for his treatment of Annie in the beginning, I also recognize it as a very human reaction. From the moment when he asks her for that first dance I began to love him. The time and care he took with her and the determination to wait for her as long as it took... beautiful.
Annie was an object of pity and heartbreak at times, but by the end of the book you'll realize that no matter her disability, she is the strongest character in the story. Through her life she put up with horrendous things and she still finds it in herself to love her family. She doesn't love blindly, she sees the faults and weaknesses in her parents and loves them despite them. Her love of her father is almost a mirror image of Alex's love of his brother. Through Annie you'll see the things you take for granted in a different light. She has a strong character and she knows what will make her life complete. Even though she knows what she wants, she's willing to bend to another character's view if she thinks it will make them happier.
This was an awesome book and I strongly recommend it.
The book starts out with a very disturbing event. Annie, the childlike town "idiot", is raped. The worst comes to pass and Annie becomes pregnant. Alex, the brother of the rapist, marries Annie to provide a home and name for the unborn child. He has no expectation of making the marriage a real one. He plans to go on with his life and expects Annie's nurse to keep her out of his way. Before long Alex find his view of Annie shaken. Soon he sees Annie in a new light and finds a love he never expected.
This story was so beautiful. The people in it are not perfect and they don't always do the right thing. I hated some of them at times, but even then, they seemed like real people making real mistakes.
Annie's mother comes off as a harsh, cruel woman. By the time Alex is getting to know the real Annie, you would be pleased if her mom would just die. You won't understand how a mother can treat her daughter like that. We, the reader, see the truth. Why is she denying it? It's frustrating and emotional, but eventually you learn to empathize with Annie's mother (even if you never really like her). That's what's so special about this story. There is no black and white. You find yourself wondering, "would I honestly have done such-and-such differently?" Then no matter what you feel, you can't help but admire her as she moves past her beliefs and tries to help her daughter live her new life.
Alex was a hard man to read at first. He had a view of Annie and a feel of entitlement to her baby that was frightening at times. I'm glad that the things that bothered me the most: his plans for Annie after the baby was born, his contact with his brother, etc. were all discussed eventually with Annie. I thought that was very mature and even though I disliked him at times for his treatment of Annie in the beginning, I also recognize it as a very human reaction. From the moment when he asks her for that first dance I began to love him. The time and care he took with her and the determination to wait for her as long as it took... beautiful.
Annie was an object of pity and heartbreak at times, but by the end of the book you'll realize that no matter her disability, she is the strongest character in the story. Through her life she put up with horrendous things and she still finds it in herself to love her family. She doesn't love blindly, she sees the faults and weaknesses in her parents and loves them despite them. Her love of her father is almost a mirror image of Alex's love of his brother. Through Annie you'll see the things you take for granted in a different light. She has a strong character and she knows what will make her life complete. Even though she knows what she wants, she's willing to bend to another character's view if she thinks it will make them happier.
This was an awesome book and I strongly recommend it.
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