rachelruetz

At first I thought something was wrong with me when I started reading this-then I realized the author was British, so then I figured there were a lot of phrases and such that I wouldn't get right away. After that, I was sucked in.
There were so many elements in this novel-the mystery behind the boy giving Rowan the negative, Rowan having to take care of her little sister and her chronically depressed mother, trying to hide her home life from everyone, including her father, and her new friendship with one of her late brother's friends. It all adds up to an impressive, meaty story.
Rowan is a realistic teenager thrown into a catastrophe she thinks she must handle alone. I thought Valentine gave her a powerful, yet meek voice as a teenager who wants desperately to be a teenager, and as a young woman forced to act as a mother.
Her various friends' quaintness was one of my favorite parts of the novel. Rowan's casual handling of her brother's weed stash made me laugh, as well as her American boyfriend's use of an old ambulance as a mobile home. They sound like a fun bunch