Since #bookstagram kept posting about this one, I had to give it a read. I will agree with the widespread opinion that the book is fairly sad, but I wouldn’t say that this is the most heartbreaking story I’ve read by Hoover. You’re likely familiar with someone of the basic components of the novel- girl has too much to drink, makes a bad decision, and she’s left to pay for costing her lover his life. However most stories don’t normally include the Ledgers and Diems of their stories. We get to follow Kenna as she attempts to rebuild the burned bridges to get the chance to reunite with her young daughter. Romance is in the air with the attractive bartender (and basically bonus relative for Diem) comes into the picture. People will be forced to make tough choices, choose sides, as tension rises. Readers would do well to consider what they would do to be with their daughter- or what they would do to protect a loved child from being around a potentially dangerous mother.

Kenna is ultimately the first drunk driver I have ever been able to empathize with. I had never found myself rooting for the driver to be able to move on with their lives, as I’ve always felt they deserved to essentially be shunned by the remaining relatives of the deceased. I definitely wouldn’t have felt bad that their kid was kept away if they did not even seem to shed a tear for the life they ended. However, Hoover left me hoping that Kenna would have the opportunity to reunite with her daughter and potentially find new love. Although I won’t spoil the ending, I will say that it has led me to reconsider what I would do in their shoes. This novel is powerful; it may not have made me cry, but I was made painfully aware of how easily someone I love could be in this position. I am thankful for the thought-provoking questions it raised