*Please note, the review below was written out of frustration and as such, is formatted differently from my regular reviews.*
Look, the book wasn’t *bad*. But it had several large flaws. I’ll list them in the order I noticed them, rather than in order of importance.
Firstly, the author makes each of the characters mind-readers. Each chapter is from a different character’s perspective, and yet they are somehow able to tell exactly what the other character(s) are thinking. For example (not a real quote): “She looked out the window, contemplating her situation. I knew she hated me, but more than that, she hated being hungry, and dirty...” Etc.
Secondly, the dialogue was really unrealistic. Especially Mia’s lines. Everything she said sounded like a line from a novel. Another false example quote: “The sky is burgundy tonight, and the snow is falling like it will never stop. I miss my family, but more than that, I miss having my independence...” No one talks like that in real life.
And thirdly, and the most problematic, was the (hidden? Not really) political agenda and racism.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
This novel was very pro-life. When Mia was contemplating getting an abortion, her father, whom was always portrayed as an insensitive, selfish, corrupt jackass, was the one pushing for the abortion, while her sweet, naive, caring mother was pushing for her the keep the baby, because, as Eve said, “abortion is murder, that’s a little baby” (paraphrased). I’m pro-choice. I had no issue with Mia’s decision to maintain the pregnancy, because that was her choice. What I was opposed to was the obvious attempt by the author to convince the reader to go pro-life.
And lastly, the racism. Several times, the detective described bad areas of the city as being “dirty with a large African-American population”. Even when at the end, Mia is revealed to have planned her own kidnapping, the bad man who set it all up was the “blackest [she’d] ever seen”. And the bar they met in was full of black men, all drunk at 2 pm. How is shit like this allowed to be published? I’m Caucasian, but I got offended by the blatant racism. Even Owen, who was initially portrayed as the bad guy, turned out to be good in the end, as Mia fell in love with him. What was his nationality? He was white. I’m not exactly sure how the author rationalized this. “Oh, let’s make all the good but misunderstood characters white, and all the poor, drunk, dirty, evil ones black.”
Despite these flaws, the storyline was not bad. This book was not bad. But it had the opportunity to be much better, and it didn’t take it. If you are able to look past these flaws and the book is on sale, I say go for it. But if you’re looking to buy a new book at full price, don’t waste your money here.
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