cat's corner

Alice's mother died of cancer years ago. Everyone else has moved on: her father has remarried and is expecting a new baby, but Alice continues to mourn, finding solace in song writing, attending services and performing at her mother's old church with best friend/musical soul mate Claire, and spending time with her boyfriend Blaze.

Nothing can shake Alice from her grief from the birth of a baby sister Ivy, the progression of her relationship with Blaze, to a with Claire. It is only when she, Victoria, and Ivy are caught on the road during freak snow storm that Alice begins to regain perspective and consider the possibility that her mother was closer than she ever imagined.

Author Lisa Schroeder's decision to tell this story entirely in verse is deceptively simple, but the effectiveness of this narration quickly becomes clear cutting through the excess of more straightforward prose to the raw center of Alice's emotional turmoil. Despite being the story being told from a single character's perspective though, Ms. Schroeder still manages to drop subtle hints (i.e., her father's pained silence, Blaze's easy interaction with the stepmother his girlfriend has written off, their efforts to remind Alice that they're a family) to let readers know Alice's perspective might somewhat biased.

It's rare to find a book that moves me to tears, but FAR FROM YOU touched my heart, making it an emotional journey worth taking.

Originally posted at TeensReadToo.com.