We've got your back. With the Tough-O-Meter, you'll know whether to bring extra layers or Swiss army knives as you summit the literary mountain. (10 = Toughest)
(6) Tree Line
Will—the narrator of Freewill—is not in a good place. And since our experience of this book is filtered through his thoughts, this book can be a pretty tough read at times. More than that, though, this book is written in the second-person. What's that? Basically, it means instead of being filled with the words I (which we see in first-person narration) or he and she and so on (which we see in third-person narration), it's filled with the word you. Which is unusual.
And adding to the trickiness of this is the fact that Will isn't addressing us as readers. Nope, he's addressing himself. Inside his own head. Except when he's referring to other people as you, also inside his own head. So yeah, this book takes a bit of patience to get through.
But here's the pay-off: Will is intensely private. Like, he might as well wear a tee-shirt that says do not disturb across the front of it. So without getting to hang out inside his head, we'd have no idea just how tormented he is, or just how hard he tries. In other words, it's hard to get into his brain, but once we're in there, we get an intimate feel for just how difficult depression can be to navigate. And that, Shmoopers, is a pretty cool trick.