Review: Engaging and worth the read!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 29, 2011
Billed as a "novelette," this short work is immediately engaging. When Eugene gets the strange fortune cookie and we start to find out a little more about his past, I found myself drawn even more into the story. One thing this author did really well in a short space was to provide enough backstory to flesh out the characters, which made them interesting and relatable. That being said, I was a bit confused by Clarise's motivations. I understand what she shared with Eugene at the end, but I would have liked just that little bit more that would have explained how she fell in with this crowd in the first place, and why she thought her involvement would have bettered the overall situation. I liked the twist that involved this conflict between her and her father, but it left me a little unsure as to "why."Although it's nicely written for its length, I think it would be really interesting to take this short selection and flesh it out to a longer novella or a full-length novel. I think there is a lot to work with, and more pages would allow the time to really flesh out the storyline. This would be a novel in which I could become completely engaged.Overall, this was another solid, engaging read from this author. I look forward to more of her work!