I read a lot and found different things to respond to and like in all kinds of books. Mostly, I think I was inspired by teachers who made me think about what I was reading and writing. Two of my favorite contemporary writers are Brock Cole and Adam Rapp. Adam Rapp is a hot new writer whose way of using language is a little miracle. Popular wisdom would have us believe that most of them can't read at all.
Teenagers get a bum rap lots of the time.
The bulk of the story takes place during a two week trip to South Africa, where Berry and her father have gone to attend a memorial service in honor of Berry's older sister, Laura, who was murdered there several years prior. Berry and her father are estranged from one another, and each is still grieving over Laura's death. Their own hurting relationship comes into sharp relief as they make their way through a country where loss and reconciliation beats like a pulse all around them. All rights reserved.