Kasey Jueds's Reviews > And the Heart Says Whatever

I remember reading a quote once by Katherine Paterson, stating that children's books are either mirrors (showing the reader something about him or her self) or windows (showing the reader something about The Other)... and that, essentially, children love both kinds of stories. I think the same thing is true about books for grown-ups, and I started out reading And the Heart Says Whatever (such a great title) assuming it would be a window book for me. Emily Gould and I apparently have nothing in common, aside from being white, female, and born in the 20th century. And I was fascinated by her descriptions of what, to me, is a completely differnt sort of life... and then surprised and moved by her descriptions of her emotional life which, in spite of the outward differences, I found so easy to relate to. I guess that's the universal underlying the particular... or something like that. But it was lovely to find myself so touched, in the best sense, by this book, and also to find it so funny in some parts that I actually laughed out loud.