Book Review: Cinder & Ella by Kelly Oram

Cinder & Ella by Kelly Oram
Kindle Edition
Amazon // Goodreads 

It’s been almost a year since eighteen-year-old Ella Rodriguez was in a car accident that left her crippled, scarred, and without a mother. After a very difficult recovery, she’s been uprooted across the country and forced into the custody of a father that abandoned her when she was a young child. If Ella wants to escape her father’s home and her awful new stepfamily, she must convince her doctors that she’s capable, both physically and emotionally, of living on her own. The problem is, she’s not ready yet. The only way she can think of to start healing is by reconnecting with the one person left in the world who’s ever meant anything to her—her anonymous Internet best friend, Cinder. 
… 
Hollywood sensation Brian Oliver has a reputation for being trouble. There’s major buzz around his performance in his upcoming film The Druid Prince, but his management team says he won’t make the transition from teen heartthrob to serious A-list actor unless he can prove he’s left his wild days behind and become a mature adult. In order to douse the flames on Brian’s bad-boy reputation, his management stages a fake engagement for him to his co-star Kaylee. Brian isn’t thrilled with the arrangement—or his fake fiancée—but decides he’ll suffer through it if it means he’ll get an Oscar nomination. Then a surprise email from an old Internet friend changes everything.

In the words of my Instagram post (with slight revisions due to grammar): Its all sobs and swoons and hurt and healing. Its romance and finding yourself and letting other people in and keeping other people out. Its forgiving. Its loving. Its soul mates and nerds and destiny. Its movie stars and hot guys and sweet guys and bullies and standing up to bullies. Its falling and crawling and hoping and dear lord its breathing. And if none of that convinces you then its also politics and heartbreak and overcoming obstacles. Just read it.

How many ways are there to say 'I love you?' Honest to God. This book is my favorite book of the year. If anything tops this in the next 6 months then hell has officially frozen over. CINDER & ELLA is inspirational. Holy cheese on a cracker jack Ella is strong. And holy cheese on a cracker jack is that girl broken.

After a car accident on her birthday kills her mother, Ella's father (who I hate with a  my heart, yet somehow had a shred of sympathy for by the last word of this book) comes and demands that he live with him and his replacement family in California. Moving her from the only world she has ever known, and in the processes throwing out all her book (she's a blogger too, y'all!) and all her memories of her mother. Okay, so not all of them, but Ella put up with some shiz-niz that more than makes up for it. The only person who Ella wants contact with after her 8 month (yes) coma is her online friend Cinder. Who happens to be our Mr. Hollywood: Brian. Their love over all things nerdy is what makes this book so dang hope-filled. 

Through everything, Cinder honest to God cares about Ella for who she is. He doesn't know about what the accident did to her body, and he doesn't ask because she knows that she has no desire to tell. He wants to make her laugh because he doesn't want her to cry.

He is her best friend. (though she does gain an awesome wing girl who's dads are flipping fantastic!)

Even after making those friends, and standing up to those bullies (yes, I cried. big, old, fat crocodile tears. if this book doesn't make you leak from your eyes multiple times then you have no heart)

 getting broken and hurt and betrayed over and over and over again, she tries to remain strong. This book is so honest and Lordy the emotions are so, so raw. Have I mentioned I weeped? That is freaking monumental. I don't cry. 

Her dad's family pretty much sucks with the exception of one person. And it isn't her sperm donator. I despise him. I might have sympathy for him, but what he did, what he freaking continued to do-- there's no flipping excuse for it. 

God, y'all. Read this book and fall in love with it with me. If you've seen my twitter, I've recommended it more than once since I finished it. 

Gah! That last sentence! I squealed and giggled and was very, very tempted to kiss my phone screen. I decided against it. Mostly due to the fact I was in public and that could be seen as less than adequate decorum.