{Synopsis} – Seven years ago, an innocent act by Rowan Slone turned her life into a nightmare. Since the age of ten she’s lived with the burden of her baby brother’s death. Now she is seventeen and all she wants to do is graduate high school, go to college, and escape the loveless family she has endured all these years—the same family that holds her responsible for his death. But no one holds her responsible more than herself.
When long-time crush Mike Anderson invites her to the Prom, suddenly her future looks brighter. Rowan’s younger sister, Trina, however, is determined to ruin her new-found happiness, no matter the cost. And when Rowan discovers her mother’s long-held secret, she finds herself teetering on the edge of an abyss. Can Rowan find the strength to move toward the future or is she doomed to dwell in the past?
{My Thoughts} – Rowan is a sweet seventeen year-old girl that is treated as the outcast of her family. Seven years ago when she was ten she was told that she was the reason that her little brother Aiden was dead. That night her parents had gotten into a fight and her dad left. Her mom went into her room and locked the door leaving the children to fend for themselves. Rowan was the oldest so most of the responsibility had fallen on her shoulders. She had thought she had done everything right, she made his bottle, she fed him, she burped him she changed him and she’d put him to bed. She found a blanket and wrapped him up so he wouldn’t be cold. But the next morning he was dead and she was told that the blanket she had put on him had caused him to die because he’d over heated.
The past seven years hadn’t been easy on her. She lives in a less then ideal environment. Her father and sister treat her like she either doesn’t exist or she is soap scum. Her mother hides in her bedroom day in and day out with depression eating her feelings away. And then there is her Gran that visits from time to time but doesn’t seem to care about the way that Rowan is treated.
Rowan has a sister named Trina. Trina is outgoing and bubbly. She is everything Rowan is not. Trina has had lots of boyfriends where as Rowan has had none. One day Rowan gets partnered up with a boy named Mike for a homework assignment and she realizes how much she is attracted to him. Could she have a real relationship with a boy? Could her life move forward? Will the past always hang over her head? Will she ever be forgiven? Will she ever forgive herself? Does she have a future to look forward to? All these things are questions I had been asking myself while I was reading this book.
I have to admit, I cried, I giggled and I down right enjoyed everything about this book. I am looking forward to starting the second one as this one was a real attention grabber. It was also a very fast read. If you’d like to know what happens in Rowan’s life you will want to read this book! I am sure that you will enjoy it as much as I had.
Final Conclusion: 5 Star Rating.
