Review: Interesting Read
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 04 19, 2013
Not everyone gets a second chance. Eighty year old Cass Goldman got hers.Cass ended her own long life after a diagnosis of terminal cancer. Instead of the pearly gates, Cass woke in a hospital room in the body of a seventeen year old suicide survivor, surrounded by her parents. She soon learns Casey, the girl who was actually successful in her suicide, although no one but Cass knows, had alienated just about everyone in her life. Further investigation, however, showed Cass that Casey was much more of a victim than a perpetrator.This was an interesting story. Casey was a very strong person to have endured what she did, and my heart bled for her. Seemed everyone in her life abandoned her when she needed them most, so she needed to turn inward to survive. The journey Cass takes to save Casey from further harm was complex, suspenseful, and full of twists and turns.I was left with a few questions, or holes I felt the story contained, which kept it from scoring higher. Cass was supposed to be eighty when she passed originally. As Casey, she spoke very young, so other than occasional reminders of her chronological age, it was hard to remember Cass was actually a much older soul. It just seemed at times she was another person in a strange body instead of being so much more experienced. I wondered why Cass didn't mention, or at least investigate, what happened to her original self after she passed, but once she was Casey, she was Casey. I'm still not sure we ever got reason for the switch, either.The romance between Cass/Casey and Troy was not believable to me. I can see Cass relying on Troy, since he was her protection, but there was little reason, or opportunity, for Troy to develop feelings for Cass. As far as he was concerned, she was a seventeen year old kid (to his thirty). I knew he admired her tenacity, but as far as anything further - especially something long lasting - I just wasn't sure what that was based on. The romance seemed a secondary storyline, but it did take much of the second half of the book.Poor Casey endured much more than any person should ever have to, and reading it was difficult at times. Her mother was far from likable, but her father seemed a good guy. If you're looking for a story of survival, redemption, strength and ultimate victory, this one has an interesting ride.originally posted at Long and Short Reviews