Review: Write Me For You - Tillie Cole

Review: Write Me For You - Tillie Cole - July 2025

I've learned to strategically plan my Tillie Cole reading sessions. This book? It required the fortress of my bedroom, door closed, tissues within reach. Because while I'm not typically a crier when it comes to books, Cole has this uncanny ability to crack open my chest and reach straight for my heart. Twice in this story, I found myself with tears streaming down my face—not delicate, single-tear moments, but full waterworks.

Write Me For You transported me back to my eleven-year-old self, sprawled across my bed in the late '90s, devouring Lurlene McDaniel novels and learning that young adult fiction could break your heart in the most beautiful ways. Tillie Cole has crafted a story that carries that same bittersweet ache, but with her own signature touch.

We meet June Scott, a young woman whose cancer refuses to respond to treatment. Enrolling in an experimental drug trial at a ranch, she encounters Jesse, Chris, and Emma—fellow patients fighting their own battles. June's dream has always been simple yet profound: to become a novelist and write her own true love story. Then Jesse walks into her life, and suddenly she has material that no amount of imagination could conjure.

Their love becomes a spark of light against the shadow of their circumstances—urgent, beautiful, and achingly real. June begins documenting their story, pouring their moments onto the page. Then comes the devastating news: the trial isn't working. Their survival odds plummet to 10%.

But here's where Tillie Cole's brilliance shines. Jesse challenges June to write two versions of their story—one where cancer wins but love triumphs in their final moments (The Fault in Our Stars energy, anyone?), and another where they beat the disease and chase their dreams: Jesse as a pro footballer, June as a published novelist.

Initially, I loved the dual POV structure. However, I'll admit the ending left me slightly disoriented, as Tillie Cole blurs the lines between the two realities, forcing readers to decipher which universe they're inhabiting. It's intentionally ambiguous—by the final page, you choose which ending was real.

This narrative gamble won't work for everyone, and that's where I dock a star. But there's something profound about Tillie Cole trusting her readers to decide June and Jesse's fate. Do you choose hope or heartbreak? The choice, beautifully and devastatingly, is yours.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4mZTnLK