... and it really did keep me guessing, but the ending wasn’t what I was hoping. I’m thinking that the end result may have been the authors intent (because I can see how going a different route would have yielded a lesser emotional impact/lesson etc.), but I was left feeling cheated. I have to say, though, that it was very well written and well paced; & though the plot dragged out to the very last page, I still feel as if I didn’t waste my time reading it. There was a certain relatable factor which kept me feeling as if I can understand the characters in such a way that they weren’t just characters but may just have been real people. I can see myself picking up another book by this author someday. Honestly, not a life altering read, but still entertaining enough :)

Thank gawd for Mike Riordan! :D Maybe there’s hope after all! :D But just as a character finally walks in with a gym bag full of hope, her son starts showing violent tendencies. At least now I feel compelled to read more than I did the first 1/3 of the book, even if the depressing atmosphere still lingers overhead, lol!

It’s sort of depressing. It is well paced and well written, but I keep hoping that something good will come of her situation or that someone or something will make it possible for them to be able to enjoy life again, at least even just a little? It is great to gain insight into somebodys life in a situation in which I have not experienced (even if this is a work of fiction), but I am still hoping that this book will somehow end happily, because it would definitely be a shame if the characters in the book are left the way they have started without gaining some sort of insight or something in/after the process :)