Losing Clementine by Ashley Ream is set up by chapters which count down the last 30 days of Clementine’s life as she plans and prepares for her suicide. Each chapter chronicles her day as she goes about her business to prepare and plan for her impending departure – things as mundane as cleaning out her refrigerator to finding a new owner for her rambunctious cat and making contact with her estranged father. Along the way there is drama, unearthing of secrets and quite a few things that could derail her plan. Mostly it’s hilarious, despite you’d think the tone would be with a book about suicide, but it’s also a little heartbreaking when you learn more about Clementine’s life. You just want to save her.
It’s a strange experience reading this book. As you are reading you become, like her, more and more at peace with her decision so to speak. I wouldn’t say I was rooting her on in her suicide but you find yourself almost accepting of it in the strangest way and you keep reading on swiftly to see if she actually goes through with it. I have to applaud the author for writing in such a way that you take on that resignation and feeling of peace that Clementine has in her decision.
Clementine herself was such a strange and interesting character! She’s snarky, a free spirited artist, quite ballsy & altogether just memorable. I felt as though some of her reckless actions and interesting decision making really mirrored her commitment to going through with her suicide. Why care about what you eat when you aren’t going to be alive in a few weeks? One night stands…not a problem when you don’t have to worry about the repercussions.
There were a few things that prevented this book from being stellar or awesome. Sometimes some of the descriptions of the mundane things…were just TOO mundane and I’d find myself skipping over a half of page to get to a part where she’s being hilarious in her observations or something. My other problem came with the ending. I’m not going to say much but it was not really satisfying to me. I can’t explain it without giving things away…but I just felt very underwhelmed.
Final Thought: Losing Clementine by Ashley Ream was a good read! It wasn’t a favorite by any means but it was refreshing and I’m glad I received a copy of it from the publisher. It was such an interesting read being inside the head of a character who has made peace with herself and her decision to commit suicide. It’s comical read, despite the subject matter, and I found myself giggling quite a lot. I couldn’t put it down until I found out whether or not she went through with it! Recommended for lovers of contemporary women’s fiction who want something refreshing and unique!
Review On A Post-It:
Renee says
What a cool premise! And I'm sure it'd make you think a lot about life- seizing the day, abandoning guilt, that kind of thing- since you're going to be dead soon anyway. You could eat cookie dough everyday. You could buy that expensive dress or shoes you've always dreamed of wearing. It'd be pretty hard to kill yourself after that though- you'd just be dreaming of more goodies!
I think I'd also get concerned about what people would find of me afterward, how they'd think of me. Like you'd probably want to leave out all those things you're proud of so that people will find them and delete any embarrassing e-mails or whatnot.
Very thought-provoking. And I haven't even read it!
Jamie says
Oh it totally was one of those books that made you think about the most random things along with some more thought provoking things. I would think, "Omgosh YES you would totally want to clean out your fridge or dump your trash or remove anything embarassing." It was also weird to think, "Hmm what would I do if I knew exactly how many days I have left"….I kind of think I would have done way crazier things than she did. I think I would never end up going through with it once I went and seized the day by doing all the things I was always too scared of doing or all the things I wanted to see. Kind of made me want to live like that anyways. lol.
It was a very interesting read! Hope you get to it one of these days!
Zoe B says
Reminds me a bit of Thirteen Reasons Why but definitely with a different twist. I'm definitely going to check it out. Great Review!
Jamie says
It definitely had a different feel. I can't explain it. But I def love Thirteen Reasons Why. Def check this one out! It was a strange experience reading this book but it was enjoyable..which sounds weird considering the MC is planning her suicide.
Asheley (@BookwormAsheley) says
Glad you liked this one Jamie!! It's definitely an interesting concept and one to be written delicately, no? And such a striking cover.
Shelleyrae says
This sounds intriguing. Thanks for sharing your review
Shelleyrae @ Book'd out
Alexa @ Alexa Loves Books says
This book sounds pretty darn interesting. It must have been interesting to get into the head of a character who felt that way about her life! Thanks for bringing this to my attention.