by Sarah Dessen
Wow! Ranks right up there with Cynthia Voigt's Homecoming series of YA books about families and growing up. Annabel's family is dysfunctional to the max, although you don't realize it at first. The Dad is a nice guy who refuses to discuss anything even remotely emotional. The Mom is living her own dreams through her children, and she refuses to see that they're real human beings--not her. They're growing up and experiencing real pain that can't be healed by a bandaid, and they can never, ever tell her about it. Of the three daughters, one can't shut up, one can't speak, and one can't do or say anything that might hurt someone else.
So, other than wanting the whop the parents upside the head a few times, I heartily enjoyed this book. Or, more accurately, hated this book because it hurt so much. Which makes it worth recommending, with a couple of warnings--
She's awfully fond of flashbacks or should I say, backstory. A whole lot of the story was backstory.
Like any well-written teenage coming of age story, there's a lot of angst. Be prepared to suffer right along with her.
No comments:
Post a Comment