"Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas"

Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson, AF, 2001, 266p, rating=4
Source: library

James Patterson has written a love story! -a powerfully moving and suspenseful novel about families, loss, new love, and hope. Katie Wilkinson has found her perfect man at last. He's a writer, a house painter, an original thinker-everything she's imagined she wanted in a partner. But one day, without explanation, he disappears from her life, leaving behind only a diary for her to read. This diary is a love letter written by a new mother named Suzanne for her baby son, Nicholas. In it she pours out her heart about how she and the boy's father met, about her hopes for marriage and family, and about the unparalleled joy that having a baby has brought into her life. As Katie reads this touching document, it becomes clear that the lover who has just left her is the husband and father in this young family. She reads on, filled with terror and hope, as she struggles to understand what has happened-and whether her new love has a prayer of surviving. Written with James Patterson's perfect pitch for emotion and suspense, Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas captures beautifully the joys of a new family even as it builds to an overwhelmingly moving climax. This is an unforgettable love story, at once heartbreaking and full of hope. (Goodreads)

Simply a tender story that carries the reader to the complexities of the effects of heartbreak and the rebuilding thereafter.  Told through discovery prose that provides a suspenseful read.  A love triangle that will narrate no need of a rally for a team.  Everyone is a winner because everyone truly loves each other. 

Some parts may seem chick lit cheesy and might have you saying, "Hello, just move on!  He's a two-timing creep!", but goes to show that one ought not jump into conclusions hastily.  Luckily, through Suzanne's diary for her son Nicholas, Katie was able to discover Matt's reason for disappearing.

My only exasperation was some repetitiveness.  It can be for emphasizing importance or clarity but it simply annoyed me.  However, not overwhelming enough that it ruined the book for me.

It was the ending that blew me away!  Stabbed my heart and twisted it for good measure.  Oh, Kleenex made a killing that day I read this book (okay, I'm exaggerating).  But really, a good kind of cry.  The kind that reminds you to give your spouse and children that hug, kiss, and words of love often and with meaning.

If you're an emotional kind of person, this book is for you. :)