Growing up in a small town you learn a few things.
#1 Don’t lie to your mama she will always find out.
#2 If you plan on skipping school don’t forget that your principal lives across the street, and
#3 everyone has a dirty little secret they don’t want you to know.
Small towns tend to be much more complex than major metropolitan areas, they represent the stability of family life, while at the same time… turn into harbors for those looking for a fresh start, an escape, or more often than not…a hiding place.
The town of Leroy is no different.
Lauren Grant is the definition of “small town.” As the loved owner of a downtown cafe she has what everyone wants, home… family… and love, but what the rest of the town doesn’t know is that Lauren is trapped. With a past that starts to become the present, and ghosts (that she thought had long since disappeared) start popping back up, she has no choice but to face her demons. What she didn’t have in mind however, was that the demons would find her first… and consequently try and destroy her happy little abode. As her horrible past starts to come to light Lauren struggles to understand not only why these things happened to her so long ago, but how she can get past them. The biggest problem she has however, is trying to stay alive long enough to get her answers.
This book was wonderful. It was well written, well plotted, and sucked the reader in with numerous viewpoints. While the main and most important story was told through Lauren’s experiences and thoughts, several chapters were glimpses from the people around her, which only added depth to the emotional connection you felt for her. The pace of this book however is what kept me enthralled. To say it was bumpy would be a gross understatement. Just when the story would level off for the “expected” pages of explanation, Haddix would throw another curve ball, and knock her beloved characters right back into the mud. The “past offense” spoken of so often in the forefront of this novel is no secret, if you have a brain you can figure it out rather quickly, what is important, is not the act itself, but more the journey Lauren takes in explaining and reliving it.
There was romance, deception, moments of psychoticness, unforgivable memories, and just enough action to squash any hidden fight fetishes you may harbor.
Overall?? I say it was a winner, but more importantly it was a great all encompassing read.
Happy reading my fellow runaways and remember: Sometimes crazy just can’t be explained.
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[Rating:5/5]
