Review: will remain with you long after the ending
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 30, 2013
* I received a copy of this book to review for the blog tour. *Rating: 3.5From the moment Aspen began telling her story, I loved her and wanted to wipe away all of her pain. She has a quiet strength even after everything she's been through, which I really admired about her. She uses swimming and painting as two healthy ways to escape from her problems and the pain when it gets to be too much to bear, yet another thing I respected about her. I was amazed with the way she handled her emotions - it showed her maturity and strength. Understandably she has a difficult time with trust and has decided to build a wall around her heart. Enter Colton.I could see right away Colton would be good for Aspen to meet and get to know. They start off on the wrong foot, and their interactions due to misunderstandings between them in the beginning were funny and endearing. He's friendly and helpful with the sunniest of dispositions. Colton seemed almost too good to be true. Almost! There are good guys like him out there! His aunt was a great character, too. She reminded me of my aunts with her warm personality and the way she takes in Aspen like one of her own nieces.As much as I loved Colton, I really hated his sister, Elise. I know that's a really strong word, but I can't express how much I despised her character! Aspen described her as a close friend, but in my eyes Elise was the complete opposite. What friend would try to force an interview on you when you obviously didn't want to step into the spotlight? Elise even displays some stalker-like behavior in the name of "journalism." She wants a job at a local newspaper, and what she fails to realize is that using your "friend" to get a job you really want is selfish and egocentric. At one point, I had to put my Kindle down for fear of throwing it instead. She grated on my nerves from the first page she showed up and didn't stop even at the end. All I could think about was protecting Aspen from Elise's machinations!What I liked about this story was that Aspen's narration highlighted what life is like for a young girl as a former foster kid. There's rarely a sense of stability - at any time for any number of reasons a foster child could be moved to a new family or have to switch schools. Speaking as someone who once worked with foster kids, I know about the plethora of issues these kids face. This book can give people an idea what it's like for those who have been in foster care. Sadly there remains a stigma against kids in foster care, but I have hope that one day it'll be broken.I don't want to say too much about the plot so as not to give anything away. I will say I had a good time reading this story - at different times I laughed, cried, grimaced, and smiled. It'll pull at your heartstrings and stay with you long after you've read it!