HardcoverOur narrator is Kathy H., who reveals the story in conversational flashback -- often starting an anecdote only to bounce back to an earlier time to explain pertinent pieces of the story she's telling. If I didn't like Kathy or if her words felt in any way stilted, this book would've been awful, but the author has a real ear for dialogue and for the way that young people are with one another. The relationships actually reminded me strongly of my own childhood...I couldn't help but wonder if it was because I, too, spent my adolescence and teen years in a rather sheltered environment. More likely it's that MOST teenagers talk this way and the recognition just made it seem more personal than it was.
Anyway, I guess it's obvious that I was blown away by the believability factor, something that's even more remarkable given that the subject is far beyond anything existing in reality. Too bad that this thing of beauty wraps up so unsatisfactorily. The final bit of action is just so ridiculous. I *think* it was supposed to be some big reveal, but it was pretty much the equivalent of a parent having "the talk" with their 16-year-old. Mom or Dad might fill in some blanks, but the kid's already beyond a huge speech.
The end of a book has got to be the WORST place for an author to lose his way and that's just what happens here. The last couple of scenes clunked so pathetically that when I closed the book, my overwhelming feeling was one of disappointment in the handling of the final scenes rather than the content.
B-
