Customer Comments

It takes a lot to surprise me in a book and yet this book did just that! Just when I thought I knew who these characters were, they reached out and slapped you around a little to make sure you weren't too comfortable in your beliefs! The story-telling is engrossing and so detailed that it draws you in...allowing you to become each character whether you like it or not. I love finding new authors to read and this is definitely one that will make a recurring appearance on my list!

I can honestly say that the only thing that kept me reading and allowed me to finish this book was my pride. I hate to start a book and not finish, having felt like I didn't give it a chance. I may rethink my stance on this for future books since I just endured what can only be described as an arduous, lackluster and confusing character study which was not pleasurable or enlightening in the least. I had high hopes for this book, given that the author is a current student at the prestigious Iowa Writers Workshop, but was let down tremendously by a plot that never went anywhere, a constant question of what was real or imagined and characters that simply weren't likeable on their best day. I feel like the author should have spent a little more time fleshing things out and had a lot more advice in the editorial process before submitting this story for publication. I'm still confused at how events such as sexual abuse, loss of innoncence and the journey to find oneself can come across as trite, numb and manufactured, but this novel manages to do just this. In short, this is one that won't stay on my bookshelf to be read again, nor will I try to resale it. This one is destined for the donation pile.