I have never read a book I felt like this about before. I legitimately felt bad for EVERY single character in the book. There was really nowhere to take out your anger about how sad all their situations were. You couldn't hate anyone. It was also a very intense look at what children mean to a mother and how she would go for them. I think the character I had the most trouble relating to was Isabel...I had the hardest time "justifying" her actions, but I think what she felt is something that many people cannot understand if they have not been in her shoes. I guess you could say the same about the other characters as well, so I don't know. Maybe she just seemed to be going farther than anyone else to make herself feel better and she disregarded other people's feelings much more than anyone else in the process. She was too tunnel-visioned to her own plight. No matter, it was just that every time I opened the book to read more, I just felt so full of dread. I've never felt so much dread in reading a book and really knowing that there is NO good outcome for anyone...that everyone loses something. What a superb look at the effects decisions have and moral ambiguity. I really feel the author did a wonderful job with characters though...they were all very thoroughly explored. And I loved the way she wrote in such choppy sections. jumping around from character to character and sometimes just setting scenes: talking about the spider weaving a web in the jail cell, the clothes hanging in a closet, the way the waves slid over the rocks on Janus. I enjoyed the style quite a lot.