Oh, Ms. Caroline Blythe….how impressed I am with you! For being such a young author, I felt like she did really well with this book! It isn’t something I’ll rant and rave about and claim it’s a classic, but it was a good, solid read that was equally enjoyable and notable. Blythe gave Faye and her mother’s relationship an excellent angle and developed a plot that I felt made the book stand out from some of the rest. Some parts were slightly dull and the sentence structure wasn’t all that great, but the good certainly overshadowed the bad. I feel this book would be a good read for teenage girls like me struggling with the whole “gotta be pretty” problem—Faye had some experiences that I can relate to, especially in a school setting, with the constant scrutiny and put-downs. I felt as if I could connect with Faye through her first person dialogue, even if I don’t mug people for money and attack old ladies on accident. In conclusion, I felt that this was a good read for this summer season!
“I try to take a few more steps forward, but it’s as if I’ve landed in quicksand and I’m being sucked under. The thing is, I don’t really know if this old lady is dead. I mean, I think she is.”
I would recommend this book for ages ten and up, for mild sexual references and swearing. Nothing too graphic, though.
Much to Faye’s chagrin, you can’t turn back the hands of time—you have to live with the consequences of your actions. Her guilt and fear is eating her away……and even if the lady’s alive, the clock is ticking. Will she choose to forget…..or find out?
