Review: Really enjoyable read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 7, 2011
Is your first love an always love? Can your high school sweetheart ever be more than just that? Can you take your young love on into adulthood some ten years later, picking up where you left off? These, along with other questions, such as, would you and should you, are just the sort of problems faced by Lucy Wheeler.We meet Lucy when she is approaching thirty, living with her long term boyfriend and settled in a teaching job. All is running along just as it should until she returns home for her best friend Kate's birthday which turns into something of a high school reunion. Unbeknown to Lucy her childhood sweetheart Jackson is there too. They haven't spoken for over ten years since they broke up under a bit of a cloud. However, they soon discover the chemistry between them hasn't diminished over time. Should they pick up where they left off?The One Who Got Away makes you question whether it is ever right to cheat on someone else, despite what sort of relationship you are in. It's a wrestle with your conscience all the way. A lot depends on whether you believe that the love of your life is about to get away and if the actions of betrayal can be justified.Lucy and Jackson are both faced with this dilemma. Lucy is in a rut with her boyfriend and feels they are just going through the motions, whereas Jackson is really an accessory for his wife and pretty much a means to an end.The story is gently paced which reflects the internal conflicts the characters have and the timescale involved. It allows you time to get to know Lucy and Jackson. I felt Lucy's frustrations and anger with Jackson towards the end and couldn't understand why he had behaved the way he did. I loved the scenes and interaction between Jackson and Lucy but wanted to give him a kick up the backside when he was with his wife.The One Who Got Away was very nicely written and obviously American with it's terminology and phrasing. After a while, I found myself reading it with an American accent, probably the wrong one (I can only do one) but I really felt I was there with them.As the plot unfolded I wasn't ever sure what was going to happen next or how the relationship between Lucy and Jackson was going to turn out. I very much enjoyed the story and all the thought provoking questions it posed