“There is no shame in
trying to make things work, is how I see it. It’s better than just accepting
the broken.”
Quiet
and submissive, Sidney has always lived in the shadows of her older brother,
Peyton. Her brother seemed to always be the center of attention in her family. His
outgoing presence always attracted many people. Lately, he is the family’s
concern. Struggling with drug abuse and hanging out with the wrong crowd, he
finds himself in jail after a drunk driving accident that paralyzed a young
boy. With her mother and father in denial of Peyton’s jail sentence, Sydney is
left alone. She also begins feeling the need to apologize to the young boy her
brother hit because her family can’t seem to come to terms with the truth that
her brother did something very wrong. When she meets Layla and Mac and the rest
of the Catham family, she begins to feel less invisible. This close-knit family
takes Sydney in as their own and shows her kindness and makes her feel like she
is finally seen at last.
I
really enjoyed this book so I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. In the beginning it was a little slow but if you read
the book do not get discouraged! It begins to pick up and it reels you in more
and more as the story progresses. I thought that the characters were vividly
created. I think Dessen has a good understanding of how someone would feel in
this type of situation. I really enjoyed the character developments throughout
the book. I would recommend this book to other teens. It isn’t a slow read once
you get further into the book and it has enough things going on throughout the
book to keep you wondering and makes you want to read even more.
