Last week, I picked up a bunch of new books from the Strand for 48 cents each. A great investment, if I do say so myself :) I spent this rainy Sunday afternoon reading Far From You by Lisa Schroeder.
This book is amazing! It's a less fantastical, updated version of the Alice in Wonderland tale, and it definitely hits home. This Alice is struggling to find her place in her father's family after her mother loses her battle with cancer. But when a snowstorm strikes while Alice, her stepmother Victoria, and her baby half-sister Ivy are driving home from a family trip, Alice learns that things (and people) aren't always what they seem.
I would highly recommend this book. It's written in verse, and it's got the YA coming of age and self-understanding themes in a funky and uplifting kind of way. It's enough to make you believe in happy endings again...although this ending was happily realistic, my favorite kind. Alice is an incredibly complex character, and so authentic, without being overtly teen-angsty over her struggles. Love it!
