Review: If I Lie

IF I LIE

Corrine Jackson
Contemporary Young Adult
276 pages
Simon Pulse
Available Now
Received through Teen Book Scene for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)

Quinn’s done the unthinkable: she kissed a guy who is not Carey, her boyfriend. And she got caught. Being branded a cheater would be bad enough, but Quinn is deemed a traitor, and shunned by all of her friends. Because Carey’s not just any guy—he’s serving in Afghanistan and revered by everyone in their small, military town.

Quinn could clear her name, but that would mean revealing secrets that she’s vowed to keep—secrets that aren’t hers to share. And when Carey goes MIA, Quinn must decide how far she’ll go to protect her boyfriend…and her promise.

MY THOUGHTS

If I Lie is a stunning story, heating our blood and squeezing our hearts as we watch our young heroine bear the brunt of a community’s anger and disappointment while she remains bound and gagged by her unwavering loyalty to best friend and boyfriend Carey. Quinn’s isolation and status as a traitor affects us from page one, each confrontation with her family and former friends thinning our skin until we feel as fragile as the paper on which Quinn’s story is depicted; until every verbal jab and every look of loathing seems to tear a piece of us from the whole, letting it flutter to our feet where it’s joined shortly by the tattered remnants of our hearts. Ms. Jackson spares us nothing, brutally showing us how easily people don blinders when it suits them, and how quickly they allow themselves to look at a situation without ever really seeing it.

Quinn is a remarkable young woman, wearing a scarlet letter she doesn’t deserve with as much grace as she can muster, and while she strains against the invisible hand Carey has so cruelly placed over her mouth, she never once tries to remove it to spare herself anymore pain. While both Carey and his best friend Blake are revered and praised for their separate loyalties—Carey’s to God and country, and Blake's to Carey’s family in their time of need—it’s Quinn’s loyalty that outshines them all, and while she certainly isn’t free of blame for the situation all three find themselves in, she is the only one to own the fallout and condemnation, left on her own to cover and shield two people who prove repeatedly to be uninterested in returning the favor.

It would be easy to argue that Quinn had little choice in bearing the substantial weight of her traitor’s cross, physical evidence of her “betrayal” of Carey publicly flouted and completely indisputable to give her nothing to deny, however, she is presented with the opportunity again and again to share her burden by giving voice to Carey and Blake’s secrets yet she remains admirably silent. She recognizes her role in the events leading up to her current ostracization, never wallowing in self-pity because she knows that every finger she points at either Carey or Blake could be turned and pointed right back at her, and while her treatment at the hands of those who’ve known her her entire life is despicable, Quinn brings a wobbly smile to our faces as she stands strong against the onslaught.

Heartbreaking and beautiful, If I Lie creates in us a tangled mess of conflicting emotions as we attempt to sort through the splintered remains of what seemed months ago to be the perfect life. Though Quinn is the one issued the gag order disguised as a plea from a desperate and hurting friend, we feel its effects just as strongly, longing to open our mouths and spill the truth of Carey, Blake, and Quinn to anyone and everyone who will listen as though speaking it aloud in our reality will somehow provide her relief in hers. While we desperately want to hate Carey for what he’s inadvertently forced Quinn to endure, Ms. Jackson crafts all her characters in such away that our anger fades in the face of the individual pain each of them faces, and we read eyes wet with tears as we wonder if, after everything that’s happened, the truth is even capable of releasing any of them their secret-lined bindings.

Rating: 4.5/5

Character Interview: George From If I Lie

I'm beyond thrilled today to be a part of the promotional tour for Corrine Jackson's contemporary young adult novel If I Lie. This book absolutely blew me away, the emotional turmoil so intense I often had to set it aside and take a break to gather my courage before I could pick it up again. Each chapter was like a punch to the gut, every nasty word thrown Quinn's way and every heated glare seeming to manifest on my skin as phantom bruises I feel like I still carry today. Lovers of contemporary young adult fiction should not miss this book, and I'll have my full review posted next week to hopefully help convince you further!

George is a veteran Quinn meets at the VA hospital when she's forced to volunteer by her father, and I'm super excited to introduce all of you to him as he was my favorite character aside from Quinn. So as to avoid confusion in the interview, you should know that George refers to Quinn as Sophie, something you'll come to appreciate fully when you read the book:)

*some people have been wondering as to George's age in the comments - he's a hilarious old man:) Not sure of his exact age, but think senior citizen for sure.


A love of photography is something both you and Quinn share. Can you describe a favorite photograph of those you’ve taken as well as a favorite of those Quinn’s taken?

You mean Sophie? Mmm. I hate having my photo taken, but Sophie has a knack for making old, ugly guys like me look good. I’d say I like one she took of me when I was flirting with Nurse Espinoza. Though, Sophie’s also done some lovely nature studies. She sees things in a way others don’t, and I like that. As for me, I don’t have a favorite picture that I’ve taken. Most of my pictures are of war. Necessary, but not easy to look at.

If a loved one of yours was away fighting and they could either send you a single letter or a single photograph to comfort you in their absence, which would you choose?

That depends. Is she my sweetheart, and if so, will she be wearing clothes? Ouch. Damn kid just threw a shoe at me. (points at Sophie) 

*Jenny falls a little more in love with George here*

You and Quinn sized one another up pretty quickly when you first met, and she threw the attitude you sent her way right back at you. What was the first thing that went through your mind when she didn’t back down from you?

She reminded me of me. Only younger, two-legged, more girly, and with a lot less chest hair.

You are one of the few people, maybe the only person, who sees more in Quinn than the cheating scandal that’s rocked her small town. What would you say is the quality you admire most in her?

She’s the most honorable person I know. And that’s all I have to say on that. I don’t want her getting a big head.

You’ve been conducting interviews at the VA hospital for quite some time. Has there been one soldier’s story in particular that's affected you more than the others?

I’ve interviewed hundreds of soldiers, and they all have a unique story to tell. Stories about heroism and cowardice and fear and sacrifice and patriotism. Every story is different. Some give me nightmares and others make me laugh, but the unalterable fact is that I am changed by all. But to answer your question more directly, no, I’m not affected by one telling over another. Rather, I’m affected by all those soldiers who haven’t had a chance to talk about what they went through, to have an ear honoring their service. Every untold story breaks my fucking heart.

What’s one thing, outside of photography, that you’re proud to have taught Quinn?

Not a damn thing. That kid gave me more than I ever gave her. She taught me about friendship and honor and love. I’m proud to call her my friend. (pauses) Wait. I take that back. I taught her how to cheat at cards.

How amazing is George? I hope everyone takes the time to pick this book up, it's truly brilliant. More information on Corrine and If I Lie can be found here:

Website
Twitter
Amazon Buy Link

IF I LIE

Quinn’s done the unthinkable: she kissed a guy who is not Carey, her boyfriend. And she got caught. Being branded a cheater would be bad enough, but Quinn is deemed a traitor, and shunned by all of her friends. Because Carey’s not just any guy—he’s serving in Afghanistan and revered by everyone in their small, military town.

Quinn could clear her name, but that would mean revealing secrets that she’s vowed to keep—secrets that aren’t hers to share. And when Carey goes MIA, Quinn must decide how far she’ll go to protect her boyfriend…and her promise.

Author Interview: Huntley Fitzpatrick + My Life Next Door

I'm really pleased today to be a part of the promotional tour for Huntley Fitzpatrick's contemporary young adult novel My Life Next Door. Thanks to Teen Book Scene, I was able to ask Huntley a few questions about Samantha, Jase, and the entire amazing cast of characters, so I hope you enjoy! This book caught be my surprise in the best possible way (you can read my full review here), and is certainly going to be one I buy a copy of for the keeper shelf so I can read it again and again.

What might Samantha say was the one thing she most admired about the Garrett family from simply observing them? Would she say that one thing changed once she got to know the family as individuals?  

How everything looked easy and was perfect in a more real way than her family defined it. She would say it did change, that every family has its faults and its struggles and its crazy moments that you can’t see from a distance. But those are generally the best and most real of all. 

If you were seventeen again and could have any celebrity or book character climb through your window and fall madly in love with you, who would it be? 

When I was seventeen, having someone climb in through my window and fall for me was a big fantasy of mine. It would have been Pierce Brosnan. I had a picture of him on my wall back then and just thought he was perfect. If I were seventeen now, it would probably be Augustus Waters from John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars. However brief, it would be worth it. I would still open the window for Pierce, though.

Is there one personality trait of Samantha’s (or Jase’s) you wish you possessed, or one you’re most proud of?  

Samantha tries hard to show up for the people she cares about and struggles to do the right thing—I hope I do that. 

What’s the strangest or most inconvenient place you’ve been when an idea for a story has popped into your head? 

I am always ONLY in inconvenient places when I have ideas. On a bike ride, in a shower, at a teacher conference, on a playground with no scrap of paper available for miles. I leave myself a lot of messages on the phone and use my lipstick and store receipts for purposes for which they were not intended.

What’s the very last word you wrote for My Life Next Door and what one word best describes what you were feeling when you wrote it?  

What a great question. The very last word I wrote was the scene at the Garretts where Tim sends Samantha over to talk to her mother and find out what she said to Mrs. Garrett. I’d written the conclusion earlier, but then realized I’d left Tim in the house while all these dramatic things were going on without saying what he was doing. So I figured out he must be outside, smoking. He needed his own last words, so the last words I typed were “Go find out. I’ll man the fort here.” I felt elated and relieved to be finished with the book, but also this sense of incompletion…like…I wonder what happens to Tim now.

Thanks so much for stopping by Huntley! More information on Huntley and My Life Next Door can be found here:

Website
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
Amazon buy link

MY LIFE NEXT DOOR (from Goodreads)

“One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time.”

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase's family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?

Lies Beneath Blog Tour: Word Associations

Today as part of the promotional tour through Teen Book Scene I get to share with you some fun word associations from author Anne Greenwood Brown. I sent her a random assortment of words and she replied with the first thing that popped into her head. Love it. Lies Beneath  just released this week, and you can check out my full review HERE.

Hot chocolate -    Skiing

Stiletto -    Not in this Lifetime

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious -    Something Quite Atrocious

Green thumb -    The Hulk

Michelangelo -    Naked David

The Chronicles of Narnia -    Stupid Edmond

Gift -    Crap, I didn’t get you anything!

Supernatural -    Haunted Houses

Mr. Darcy -    Ahhhhhh. Darcy.

Fairytale -    Horror Story with Princess

Laundry -    Kids

E-reader -    Soulless

Summer vacation -    Lake Superior

Underwater -    Tinny

London -    Big Ben

Heroine -    Anne of Green Gables

Thanks for playing Anne! More information on Anne and Lies Beneath can be found here:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Amazon Buy Link

LIES BENEATH (from Goodreads)

Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. 

But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistible good looks and charm on unsuspecting girls. 

Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.

Review: My Life Next Door

MY LIFE NEXT DOOR

Huntley Fitzpatrick
Contemporary Young Adult
395 pages
Dial Books for Young Readers
Available June 14th
Received through Teen Book Scene for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)

“One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time.”

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase's family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?

MY THOUGHTS

The pages of My Life Next Door contain more than simple black and white words, juxtaposing the chaotic warmth of a loving environment with the cool detachment hidden by a mask of perfection–two families worlds apart but yet separated by mere feet and a sturdy fence. Both the Garretts and the Reeds could be called the “ideal” family depending on one’s definition of ideal, and it’s fascinating to learn how the view of both from the outside is nothing if not skewed, reflecting none of the joy, pain, love, loss, strength, weakness or truth lingering within. The Garrett family lives in a home—pieces of them infused in the very wood and mortar holding it together–whereas Samantha and her sister and mother reside simply in a house–four walls and a roof all perfectly decorated and absolutely beautiful to those looking superficially—and we as readers are granted the glorious opportunity to follow Samantha as her world and her life are completely redefined.

Sam is quite literally an observer of life rather than someone who actually lives it each day, watching the Garrett family for years as they argue, play, support, and tease one another before returning to her fairly empty existence. Her gradual integration into the Garrett household is beautiful to watch, almost as though we can see the love they radiate flush her cheeks and pebble her skin, continuing to seep into her until she glows with a new confidence and knowledge that she is important and cared for now and always. There are times when she reverts back to her role as observer, watching the madness around her and allowing it control her rather than taking control of it with both hands, but she soon quickly realizes what she’s done and stands up in defense of a new love for Jase and the entire Garrett family as well as a new love for herself.

The romance with Jase is as perfect as any reader and lover of romance could wish it, gradually building and steadily growing without a cliché or common plot device to mar its beauty. Not a single preemptive declaration of love is uttered, no all-consuming attraction exists between them, and no third party enters into their relationship once it’s established; instead we get a sweet and awkward foray into emotional attachment and physical intimacy that has us giggling with glee and sighing in utter satisfaction. While the relationship between Jase and Sam is prominent, the relationships formed with all the secondary characters are exquisitely executed as well, the boisterous members of the Garrett household splitting our hearts into multiple pieces, each family member retaining ownership long after we’ve set the book down (though George’s piece might be the largest).

At times the reading of this tale can be a bit slow, the day to day lives and troubles of the Garrett family not necessarily causing us to flip the pages with record speed, however, there is a tension prevalent that refuses to dissipate, a simple knowing that tragedy is on its way that has us secretly wishing the quiet, simple moments could be drawn out to the fullest extent to allow them all happiness before the darkness rolls in. As hard as we wish we’re unable to keep that darkness at bay, and when it hits, our pain is acute and our anger powerful as the portraits of two very different families are torn to shreds and left in fragments of warm and cool colors that bleed together at our feet. Luckily for us, our beloved characters are stronger than we might have given them credit for in the beginning, and we’re left with the hope that those fragments will slowly find their way back to the whole.

Rating: 4.5/5

One Moment Blog Tour: Character Interview with Pete

As part of the promotional tour through Teen Book Scene, I'm super excited today to welcome Pete from the upcoming release One Moment to the blog. One Moment releases June 26th from Egmont, and I highly recommend it to all lovers of contemporary young adult fiction. I absolutely adored this book, and will be on the lookout for everything Ms. McBride writes in the future!

If you had to choose a song that best describes the dynamic of your friendship with Maggie and the others prior to Joey’s death, what would it be? 

Something fun and fast and twangy, with a bunch of instruments mixing together to make a perfect harmony. After his death? A slow tune with gloomy guitar/harmonica combination.

What is the craziest thing you, Joey, and Adam have ever done (aside from jumping off cliffs in the gorge)? 

One time, we had this contest to see who could hold on to the tailgate of Joey’s truck longest while riding through curvy backcountry roads on a skateboard. Joey won, of course.

The friendship between the six of you in One Moment is complex and not without its various secrets. Are you the type of person who would share someone else’s secret in the hope of fixing a delicate situation, or are you the type to keep it to yourself hoping everything will work out? 

It depends on the situation, but I’m more the type to keep it to myself and let things work out naturally. That said, I wouldn’t be afraid to jump in if needed.

Let’s say it was possible for you to have one more minute with Joey. What would you most want to say to him?

Either, “Dude! What were you thinking?” or just a simple “I love you, man.” It’s a toss up.

Joey planned a pretty perfect-for-her date for Maggie when they first got together. Where would you go and what would you do on a date you considered perfect for you? 

An all-day music festival, guitar in hand, with a girl who’s not afraid to grab a hand drum and join in the music mix. One of my favorite things in life is an impromptu jam session.

Thanks for stopping by Pete! More information on Kristina and One Moment can be found here:

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

 ONE MOMENT (from Goodreads)

This was supposed to be the best summer of Maggie’s life. Now it’s the one she’d do anything to forget.

Maggie Reynolds remembers hanging out at the gorge with her closest friends after a blowout party the night before. She remembers climbing the trail hand in hand with her perfect boyfriend, Joey. She remembers that last kiss, soft, lingering, and meant to reassure her. So why can’t she remember what happened in the moment before they were supposed to dive? Why was she left cowering at the top of the cliff, while Joey floated in the water below—dead?

As Maggie’s memories return in snatches, nothing seems to make sense. Why was Joey acting so strangely at the party? Where did he go after taking her home? And if Joey was keeping these secrets, what else was he hiding?

Review: The Summer My Life Began

THE SUMMER MY LIFE BEGAN

Shannon Greenland
Contemporary Young Adult
250 pages
Speak
Available Now
Received through Teen Book Scene for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)

Elizabeth Margaret—better known as Em—has always known what life would contain: an internship at her father’s firm, a degree from Harvard and a career as a lawyer. The only problem is that it’s not what she wants. When she gets the opportunity to get away from it all and spend a month with the aunt she never knew, she jumps at the chance. While there, Em pursues her secret dream of being a chef, and she also learns that her family has kept some significant secrets from her, too. And then there’s Cade, the laid-back local surfer boy who seems to be everything Em isn't. Naturally, she can’t resist him, and as their romance blossoms, Em feels she is living on her own terms for the first time.

MY THOUGHTS

Lighthearted and cute, The Summer My Life Began is a quick read relatively free of drama, one of those stories easily read in a couple hours that leaves us satisfied without necessarily being overly enthused. Em and company are all nicely executed though not exactly multifaceted, and the plot moves forward with little tension, leaving us feeling safe in the knowledge that things will work themselves out without a great deal of fuss. We are able to enjoy our time with Em as she embarks on trip that scratches out so many items on her much-adhered-to life-detailing lists, replacing them with new new desires and goals far more suited to the girl she wants to be rather than the girl her family thinks she should be.

Em is a sweet young woman, intent on making her parents proud by following their paint-by-numbers life plan one step at a time, seemingly unwilling to voice a protest for fear of the disappointed looks she’ll face when their snobbery proves to be more important than her dreams of being of a chef. We spend a lot of time wishing she would take a stand and refuse to be cowed by the force of their entitlement, but we know she has to work up to that place, and the plot’s predictability keeps our patience firmly in place as it’s clear that revelation will be forthcoming.

Em’s summer romance with Cade is endearing, causing just a few butterflies to flit back and forth in our stomachs, but like the situation with her family, we ultimately know how everything will work out with them. There’s a brief attempt at a love triangle, but it lacks tension and is easily resolved, leaving us wishing the romantic aspect focused solely on Cade throughout without the unnecessary deviation of a possible relationship with Jeremy. Overall however, The Summer My Life Began is a perfectly enjoyable story, well-suited for a vacation when we just want to sit outside, read, relax and sink into someone else's life without being overwhelmed or stressed by the events taking place in that life.

Rating: 3/5

Review: Slide

SLIDE (Slide #1)
Jill Hathaway
Paranormal-ish Young Adult
256 pages
Balzer + Bray
Available March 27th
Received through Teen Book Scene for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth—her sister’s friend Sophie didn’t kill herself. She was murdered.

Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn’t actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else’s mind and experiences the world through that person’s eyes. She’s slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed “friend” when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie’s slashed body.

Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can’t bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting off lately, more distant, especially now that she’s been spending more time with Zane.

Enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies, and danger and with no one to turn to, Vee must find a way to unmask the killer before he or she strikes again.

MY THOUGHTS
Slide is a story that draws us in quickly, making us feel vulnerable on a level rarely experienced while reading and binding us to Vee as we tread precariously through the strangeness of her life. Not only do we have the vulnerability we typically feel as passive observers to fictional action–stuck outside the pages with absolutely no ability to direct or alter what’s unfolding before us–but with Vee’s story that usual vulnerability is compounded by her ability to slide into the minds of others without effecting change while she’s there. Thus, we find ourselves observers of someone who’s an even more intimate observer of others, leaving us helpless not just on a single default level but on a far deeper level as well, and making the reading experience a kind of fascinating exercise in facing our own impotence.

Vee is a young woman whose gift superficially seems like it might be something we’d like to experience, but the more time we spend with her, the more her ability takes on a darker, almost sinister edge, turning us all into unintentional voyeurs invading the privacy of others without their consent. Her sliding also leaves her body starkly exposed, her mind unable to protect its physical form while occupied in the mind of another, and we therefore feel an intense need to protect her despite our deep-seated knowledge that we are unable to do so. Still, Vee’s safety–emotionally and physically–becomes important to us, and we envy the strength she possesses to deal with such unusual circumstances and the horrors she is sometimes subjected to as a result.

Though Vee is a heroine it’s extremely easy to root for and we are rapidly swept away into a world where seeing is not just believing but also experiencing, the overall feeling we are left with upon finishing is one of slight disappointment. Ms. Hathaway has written a gorgeously dark story with characters who have problems and pasts that keep us riveted to the pages, however, we are denied deeper, richer access to them. Reading this story is a bit like being children in a candy store–we want nothing more than to touch and taste everything within reach of our greedy fingers, but the firm hand of our parents restrains us, their authoritative voices reminding us we are to look only while fully indulging in nothing. There’s an intriguing relationship with Rollins of which we only get a brief flash, just as there is a great deal of pain and loss in Vee’s own past that we get a little snippet of when everything comes together at the end, but those tiny tastes, however delightful, make us feel the absence of something weightier all the more keenly.

Overall, Slide is a very quick and entertaining read, one that is done just well enough that we can’t help but want to immerse ourselves a little more thoroughly in the world and its characters, thereby causing the inability to do so to affect us more than it might in another book. Ms. Hathaway is certainly an author going on my “authors to keep track of” list, and I look forward to whatever she releases next.

Rating: 3.5/5

Review: Pearl

PEARL
Jo Knowles
Contemporary Young Adult
224 pages
Henry Holt/Macmillan
Available July 19th
Received for review
through Teen Book Scene

THE STORY
Pearl, aka Bean, is pretty used to how things are in her life. Her mother isn't really much of a mother at all, working late and coming home drunk only to get into an argument with her father over the poor decisions he feels she's making. At least Bean has Henry, her best friend and a young man that has family issues of his own.

When Bean's grandfather dies unexpectedly, her entire world changes. Not only does her mother not seem overly upset, but her mom's best friend Claire moves in and she can hear them laughing late at night when, for Bean, the grief and loss are almost more than she can bear.

Though Henry's mom Sally almost never leaves their house, she agrees to come to Bean's grandfather's funeral and ends up befriending both Bean's mom and Claire. This new friendship coupled with her grandfather's absence leads to some new family drama, and the shocking realization that things are not now, nor have they ever been, what they've seemed to Bean.

MY THOUGHTS
Quietly compelling, Pearl is one of those stories that gives us just a few frames in the moving picture of one particular character's life, pulling us into Bean's world quickly for a couple brief moments of conflict before we are released back into our own lives. While there is certainly drama, it never crosses the line into melodrama but rather remains engagingly intimate, as though we alone are the only ones that will share in the pain, the healing, and the growth Pearl experiences regardless of the number of people who will actually read this tale. For a short period of time we are her invisible confidantes, lending support when it's needed and wishing our fingers could fall through the pages to lace with hers as family history is brought to light in a softer way no less compelling for it's subdued delivery.

Pearl and Henry are characters to whom we instantly form a camaraderie, wanting and hoping to shield them from the difficulties of their lonely existence. Both have mothers who have temporarily forgotten what it means to raise a child, retreating so deeply into the trivialities of their own lives they leave no time for the inclusion of their flesh and blood. As we see them both through Pearl's eyes, we feel both anger and sadness, willing them to see how their smallest actions or inactions have the most profound effect on their children. For their part, Pearl and Henry take their mothers in stride, their familiarity with the detachment disheartening but the strength of their bond and the support system they've built with one another enough to bring a wistful smile to our faces.

The evolving relationships between all the characters are a pleasure to read, the passing of one person the catalyst for so many positive changes as new life is sparked from the literal ashes of death. The snippet of time we're given in Pearl is engaging, but it is a brief interlude that doesn't necessarily linger long in our memories once we've finished reading. It's a quick snapshot–we blink and it's over– and we find ourselves ready to move on without feeling the need to dwell on the events or replay them in our minds to make the experience last that little bit longer. Pearl is a fast, interesting read, just not one that will burn a hole on our shelves as a permanent brand to let us know it's there.

Rating: 3/5