I think, of all the things I've read, this has been my favorite (to be fair this is the only fictional based on story I've read). This book has a little of everything--which is both a blessing and a curse. I wasn't quite sure why we needed the Cassandra/Will subplot, except maybe as a foil to Caraboo's adventures.

Johnson imagines Caraboo (Or Mary) as a young girl who's life was broken by heartbreak and betrayal, who takes up the Caraboo life not to con or bamboozle or steal, but because for her Caraboo is what she aspires to be.

Fierce, strong, unflinching and fearless. Caraboo swims and hunts and has a knife she dances with. She is everything a girl like Mary would want to be. ( )