Needs attention and time as there are a lot of peripheral characters and a lot of threads to weave together, but the result is a great book. Pace yourself, and embrace the story.

Told from multiple perspectives (which worked really well here), the characters feel like people who actually existed. Reading what they were feeling and watching their actions take place, felt like I was reading a news paper and an article about real people. They're not always likeable, they're flawed, and Lydia in particular, my heart felt it was going to break for her. Then I wanted to scream at her, but because she feels like your family you let that rage slide. I really got my head into this story and my feelings felt very real towards the characters.

This debut will stay with me for a long time. It teaches us that a small decision can have the most impact on multiple lives, and yet all we can do is live through them and do what we think will be best for us at the time.

The language was captivating, the characters had depth, and I couldn't put it down until I finished. And then I wish I hadn't devoured it so quickly, because I then felt like starting from page one again.