I would have given this a higher rating, but I thought the ending sucked. I wanted to slap Carrie. Frustrating. ( )

Pretty well written. Fast read. A bit cliché at times. Good dialouge and character development. Explores familiar vs adventure. Home and restlessness. What we owe those we love and what we owe ourselves. ( )

Carrie Bell is a young woman whose life is mapper out for her, even if she doesn't feel too much excitement for it. She's lived her whole life in Madison, Wisconsin and fell into her job at the college library almost by default. She's engaged to a young man who she has been dating since she was 15 years old. In short, she's bored with everything.

On Memorial Day weekend she and Mike drive to Clausen's Reservoir 60 miles north of Madison, and there, in an effort to recreate a spark in Carrie, Mike dives off the pier into shallow water and breaks his neck.

At first, Carrie dutifully appears at the hospital every day, but then she skips one day and then another and then, at a moment of crisis just runs away to New York. There she bunks with an old friend from Madison and his bohemian friends an takes up with an enigmatic older man who himself is suffering from an emotional crisis.

How Carrie comes to terms with herself and where she belongs could have been a sudsy, sappy novel. It's to the writer's credit that it isn't. This was an enticing first novel. and i'm looking forward to reading more of this author's books ( )

I can see why others reviewed the book as they did, but as someone who was thrust into a 24/7 caregivers role much later in life, I found Carrie's struggle really spoke to me. These are real issues people are forced to face and at such a young age, I can totally believe the angst this would cause. I found all of that very true to life and honest and while not at all the same as my situation, it really spoke to me. Her treatment of the topic of how people struggle to know what to say following a life changing event is spot on, as is the impact on family, friends, and even the wider circle of acquaintances and co-workers in the community. Much of the rest of the story fell into the "good afternoon to curl up and read type of book" which is fine when that is just what you need. ( )

A few chapters in, I felt that this was too contrived to keep bothering with, but I hung in there. I got better in the middle, but ended how it began. Unfortunately, as with several books I've read lately, it seemed to wrap up too quickly for my taste, as if the author was wholly invested in the first half of the project but eventually just wanted it to be over. She spent so much time creating a relationship for us to really become invested in and then tossed it to the side with (I thought) too little angst. I also found the acceptance of Mike, his family and best friend unbelievable in the end, which contributed to my feeling that the author just rushed toward a pre-conceived ending instead of developing it fully.

Still, I did enjoy the story and appreciate the weight of the story's premise... makes you think about what you would do. ( )