This book was an emotional roller coaster for me. It had reminders of summers when I was a child that brought sweet memories of my own cousins up. There are a lot of secrets, guilty feelings, sadness, anger, and forgiveness, hope and love. I think the most important thing they learn from this, (and in turn we learn), is how important communication is among people who love each other. I thought this was a beautifully told book. The characters were well developed - I felt like I knew them. The story flowed very well, something I wasn't certain would work going from one year to another then back again. I am giving this 5 stars. It is a book I would recommend. ( )

This novel begins with a dark, haunting prologue-partly why the reader will continue to read. The reader isn't introduced to the main characters yet, but the prologue plays a large part in the plot and theme of the novel.

The author writes in an unusually smooth and captivating way, adding quotes from notable persons and detailing scenes very well. The reader will understand the atmosphere and be able to infer the emotions and thoughts of the characters fairly quickly in the book. The characters, for the most part, are very easy to like and cheer for. Mitch is known as the "pale child"-mostly because his mother has him convinced he needs to stay away from the sun-and is a reader. Cecil is religious and "fearful of retaliation", a combination that is almost comical in the book. Caroline aka "Rho" likes to pretend she is tough, but has quite a few fears of her own. Jasper does his best to be strong and protective, but not everything can always work out. These characters will endear themselves to the reader in the first part of the book.

The plot is very interesting, there are several sub-plots that connect back to the plot as well. Most readers know about the "Roe vs. Wade" case and can use background information to better understand the book. There is a strong theme of right vs. wrong and if there should be a "divide" at all in the book. There is also sadness, loss, family, death, destruction, etc... This book has a little bit of everything, but they all fit right into the story. The ending is perfect for this book, the author sums everything up and leaves the reader with quite a few lessons. This book is recommended for adults/young adults who enjoy realism. ( )

This book was quite different from what I'm used to read, but I'm glad to say that I really enjoyed it. The story can be cruel and sad sometimes, but it also talks about love, family, death and how decisions can affect not only our life but also the life of the people we love.

The story starts with a breathtaking prologue, really dark, mysterious, and more than realistic that made me think and believe for a moment that I was there and that I was part of the story… That is why I'm not surprised why this book caught my attention and it kept me motivated to continue reading; and one of the reasons was because the author only gives us a little piece of information and we need to continue reading to find out what happened and what is going to happen next. The way the story is told, with different characters and different times kept the intrigue all the time so it was hard for me to stop reading in several occasions.

Also the details and the descriptions were awesome. The author doesn't only tells us the story, but she tells us extra details about the life of the characters, so in that way we can know them better and we can understand why they behave in the way they do.
What I didn't enjoy too much was the ending, and I think that it was principally because the book was over and there were no more to read. I would have liked to read more about Caroline, specially after all what happened to Mitch and also to read more about her aunt Mabel and her dad Jasper... But I think the book is perfect in the way that it's written, and that it ended in the way it should have ended.

I don't want to spoil too much. Even though you know what the Roe vs Wade case was about, and that can give you a lot of information about the plot, I'm sure all readers will be interested in the story and how it develops. I really enjoyed this book, it's really easy to read and it will give the readers a few important things to think about.
Like me, that I didn't know too much about the case, so after finishing the book I decided to look more information about it. So I'm glad I read it, because this book talks about an important issue in our society without judging anyone.

Highly recommended to adults and older teens who like realistic stories about families and their dark secrets. ( )