Thursday, April 24, 2014

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

2 Stars
 
When Hayley’s dad Andy returned from fighting overseas five years ago, he was a changed man. He tried battling his PTSD by running – taking Hayley with him over-the-road and home schooling her. Now Andy and Hayley have moved back to their hometown in an attempt to give Hayley a sense of normalcy for her senior year of high school. But how can Hayley ever know what "normal” is when she is being raised by someone who can “turn into a werewolf even if the moon isn’t full” and when she is fighting demons of her own?

Oh man. This was a solid 4-Star book. Such a heavy storyline, so well written and so haunting (especially Andy’s narratives). I was almost positive this was going to be a winner and make me cry big fat tears. Until the end . . .



This book was dark. I was prepared for dark. A particular reoccurring scene in the book led me to believe it was going to get super dark. I braced myself for a huge blow and armed myself with a box of tissues. Sadly, the book didn’t deliver.



I’ll be the first to admit I can be a harsh critic. I am also very forgiving - especially when it comes to YA novels. I have come to expect the fact that there's a good chance I won't like the main character. At any point in the book. Period. I have come to expect situations might be handled with "kid gloves" (no pun intended) compared to other novels. What I don't expect is for an author to throw in the towel and write what may be the crappiest ending I've ever read. Many will love this book and won’t have a problem with the ending at all, but for me? Those final few pages of suckitude caused me to drop my rating dropped significantly. 

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