GUS (Bright Side # 2) by Kim Holden
(Gus by Kim Holden first ed cover)
Synopsis:
The journey that began in top-rated, best-selling Bright Side, continues ...
This is the story of Gus.
Losing himself.
Finding himself.
And healing along the way.
“ … but the honest-to-God truth is I don’t even know how to function anymore. Bright Side wasn’t only my best friend; she was like my other half ... the other half of my brain, the other half of my conscience, the other half of my sense of humor, the other half of my creativity, the other half of my heart. How do you go back to doing what you did before, when half of you is gone forever?”
my rating: 5 out of 5 stars
review:
I don't always write reviews but this one, this one deserves one.
When I read Bright Side, I was moved. It gave me a different view about life. It drove me to be optimistic and do epic. There's something with Kate and Gus that I admired the most, their friendship. After how Bright Side ended, it made me curious about Gus. What would he do, now that his bestfriend and one of the most important woman in his life is gone? How would he cope with it? Then this book came. I remember being so excited and nervous at the same time. All my questions will be answered!
I didn't expect it to be so gooood. I definitely saw a different side of Gus. He's not the a-hole type of a rock star. I was hurt when he was struggling with what's happening. It showed how vulnerable he is without his Bright Side. I really have no words to describe this book. It's perfect! I love Scout too. UGHHHHHH!!! I was so glad with how their relationship progressed :D I know that Kate will always have a part in his heart. And I like Scout's personality. She's very reserved because of what happened to her and then she gradually opened up to Gus. I think they're perfect in their own ways. And the sticky notes are so sweet ☺️
It kinda feel nostalgic when they did another concert in Minnesota. I felt so connected with the characters in Bright Side that made me miss them so much. Like Keller and Stella! Audrey and Doc Banks! Robbie, Jamie and Franco! Romero, Duncan, Shelly, Clayton and Peter! Did I miss someone? Haha. Also, we met Gus's dad! I love his and Audrey's story! ☺️
Then there's Mrs. Randolph, who gave this words to Gus (and it's really inspiring):
(Mrs. Randolph) “Listen to me, boy. You only get one chance at this circus called life. Don’t sit in the crowd watchin’ it happen. You jump right in and be the ringleader. That’s where you find your fire.”
(Gus) “What if your fire died with someone else?”
“Nope. Here’s the thing about life, boy. We meet a lot of people along this journey. Some of them are sonsabitches and some are special. When you find the special ones you don’t take a moment for granted, because you never know when your time with them is gonna be up. I got over fifty years with my Fritz. Fifty wonderful years. When he died, I was lost for a few months. I lost my fire. But then I realized that life’s short and I had a choice to make. I could keep bein’ miserable, or I could go find joy and live again.”
I learned something in this book. We all have our own ways to deal with the death of someone close to us. We can be angry with every person in the world or we can just keep silent and let it pass away. But what matters is that we should move on. It is what that person want us to do. We shouldn't dwell so much in their death because it will only make us lonely and depressed. Continue living and make them proud. Suck it up and do epic!
P.S. PLEASE COME TO THE PHILIPPINES!!
