shojoholic

Every criticism I have about this book could have been prevented by a committed editor. Someone needed to be there to say, "Hey, that's an interesting detail. Could you back up a few steps and flesh it out a little?" Or, "The narrator seems to be putting things together. Why isn't she acting on it?"

Too often, I felt like the narrator knew key information but withheld it from the reader, either as a way of building dramatic effect (what happened to Jessica's mom?) or because she thought details were unnecessary (volunteer service programs aren't standard at every school, and could have used a sentence or two as setup). As a result, I feel like I've read a girl's journal—something she wrote for herself, not a story she intended to share with someone else.

Oh! I forgot to mention that I received this book for free through the Goodreads First Reads.