FAR FROM YOU
LISA SCHROEDER
Contemporary YA
Simon Pulse
ISBN# 978-1-4169-7506-9
368 pages
$15.99
Hardcover—Available January 2009
Rating: 4.5 Enchantments
Alice’s life is a mess, even years after the death of her beloved mother due to cancer. She is continually searching for a way to be close to her mom, her angel, because she can’t deal with her father’s remarriage. All Alice has left is her best friend Claire, her boyfriend Blaze, her faith, and her music. She seems to be just an afterthought to everyone else.
Thanksgiving break comes, and Alice is forced to spend that time with her stepmom’s family. She can’t even count on Claire anymore since they had a fight, her father is as distant as ever, and miles separate her from Blaze. Alice is as sullen as ever. But when she, her stepmother, and her newborn baby sister are trapped in a ferocious snowstorm, Alice has to confront all her pent up anger and frustration. It’s a fight for life and for love that will change Alice’s world forever.
FAR FROM YOU is a beautiful story, written in verse, about love and loss. Through each poem and song, it is easy to understand Alice and feel her pain. Readers will be able to relate to Alice’s feeling of invisibility within her own family, and Schroeder creates this sympathy by writing in a style that evokes so much emotion. Each poem goes deep into Alice’s heart, and I really enjoyed reading from her perspective, especially her songs. There is not much drama or action in this book despite the life threatening storm; instead, FAR FROM YOU focuses on emotion and relationships, especially with family. FAR FROM YOU is a very fast read, disappointingly so, but it is one that will give readers a sense of hope and belief in the power of love.
Lisa Schroeder has written one other novel in verse, I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME. She is a member of Author2Author, an online writers’ blog, and can also be visited online at her website: http://www.lisaschroederbooks.com/
Rachael Stein
Enchanting Reviews
January 2009
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