Review: From "Red Adept Reviews"
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 25, 2010
Plot/Storyline: 4 StarsWhile the story is actually told from the daughter's viewpoint, I found it to be more of a tale of an abused wife, the mother. Emily's mother was as much a victim in this book as her children, if not more. However, I did feel more sympathy for the kids, as they were minors and forced to live with their mother's choices.The storyline was far too rushed to get any real sense of the every day events in the lives of the family. In this short novella, Emily grows from a child to an adult. This novella should have been fleshed out into a full novel to gain a full impact on readers.The arrangement of the events was very well done. The opening scene pulled me in and made me want to read more to find out what happened to the mother.This is a story that will make you cry, then cheer a little towards the end. Although I understood Emily's choices, I did wish that she could have done a bit more for her siblings at one point. However, the ending was decent.Character Development: 3 1/2 StarsThe novella was a little short on character development. The `rushing' mentioned above applied to this section, also. Emily was portrayed at a deep enough level for readers to gain insight and understanding of her choices. However, the development of the characters of her parents and siblings was stunted.Writing Style: 4 1/2 StarsThe writing style was excellent. The sentence structuring had a nice, even flow. While the descriptions were lacking, the ones included were well done. The dialogue was good, also.