What a truly wonderful book it is!

I managed to read it quite rapidly as I found the story to be extremely engaging. Moreover, JCO's writing style is so easy to digest, making it a pleasure to read.

The story vividly reminded me of a short story that I penned in the 80's, which was about an autistic child. I really appreciate the way in which she selected an unlikely mentor to assist the troubled youth in the book. This aspect of the story was not only interesting but also had a profound impact on me.

In fact, it even provided me with some valuable insights and inspiration in certain aspects of my volunteering work at the Listening Post. It is amazing how a book can have such a significant influence on our lives and experiences.

This was an extremely dramatic book.

Jenna unfortunately gets involved in a car crash that tragically takes the life of her mother. After that, she has to move in with her aunt. At school, she then gets connected with a group of kids who don't make good decisions.

I constantly found myself hoping and wanting her to turn her life around. However, it wasn't until Crow appears and saves her that she finally starts to make a change.

She has only a few encounters with Crow, yet she decides that she is in love with him. Almost every scene, her thoughts would drift to him.

It reached a point where it became just plain annoying. Moreover, the ending came very abruptly.

Overall, I didn't enjoy this book very much.

I felt that the story had potential, but the way the characters developed and the sudden ending left me feeling dissatisfied.

Maybe with some improvements in the pacing and character arcs, this could have been a more engaging read.

As it stands, it was a bit of a disappointment.

A trembling storyteller, but a brave girl, learns...

This is a tremendous novel that offers a coming-of-age story like no other. As the girl, who is both a trembling storyteller and a brave soul, tells her story, I am filled with awe at the fear she has walked through. She bravely walks to the other side of the bridge, which metaphorically represents another time in her life. It was a moment when she was the only survivor, as her mother veered to the other side of the bridge and crashed. She believes she is alone in the world, lost and adrift. But then, something remarkable happens. She opens her eyes and 'sees'. This moment of seeing is not just a physical act but a spiritual awakening. It is as if a new world unfolds before her, filled with possibilities and hope. She realizes that she is not alone after all, and that there is a way forward. This novel is a powerful exploration of grief, courage, and self-discovery, and it will leave readers deeply moved and inspired.

What is it about this author that clearly seems to have a penchant for dragging her stories into the darkest of abysses?

Jenna, a 15-year-old, is extremely close to her mother. Tragically, on a sunny day while driving over the Tapanzee bridge, Jenna spots an object. She commands her mother to stop and perhaps even grabs the wheel, causing the car to swerve into the oncoming lane and directly into a truck.

Sadly, neither the truck driver nor Jenna's mother survives. Severely injured, the story commences with Jenna in the ICU, attempting to make sense of what exactly transpired and wondering if she is responsible for the deaths of two people.

Her father is a first-class jerk who abandoned the family years ago, running off with a younger woman and clearly never in the running for father of the year. He is depicted as someone who could look at his daughter's broken body and contemplate physically abusing her? After months of agony, Jenna leaves the hospital to live with a beloved aunt and her caring husband.

A new school, new mother and father figures, two young cousins, a new town, the loss of a beloved mother which Jenna blames herself for and is extremely withdrawn, and yet no one gets therapy for this kid until she associates with the wrong crowd and has a serious drug overdose?

Oates portrays the surrogate family as wonderful, caring, perhaps overly accepting. But then why depict them as slow to seek help for her? I initially liked the beginning of the book and Jenna's admirable efforts to rise above the wreckage of her body and start anew.

However, midway through to the end, I came to dislike Jenna and Oates' writing.

Everything seemed artificial and exaggerated. It is evident that Oates struggled with the YA genre.

This one gets no stars.

Fifteen-year-old Jenna's life took a tragic turn when the car she was in careened and hit the guard rail of the Tappan Zee Bridge. The accident was devastating, leaving her mother and another driver dead. Jenna was injured and found herself in a drug-induced haze, lost in a state of profound sadness and guilt.

Feeling that she was somehow responsible for the accident, Jenna wanted to remain in that blue, numbing state. She went to live with her aunt in New Hampshire, but she was unable to accept the help that was offered to her. Instead, she hooked up with a senior girl who had access to drugs and alcohol, using these substances as a way to try and stay in her self-imposed state of numbness.

However, it wasn't until Jenna made a huge mistake and formed an unlikely friendship with Crow, a French Canadian biker, that she began to face her fears and start to connect with those around her. This new friendship would prove to be the catalyst for Jenna's journey towards healing and recovery.

Whenever I pick up a work by Joyce Carol Oates, a strange feeling comes over me. I find myself hating myself a little bit. Her writing is overly dramatic, almost to the point of being exaggerated. It seems as if she is trying just a little too hard to be artsy and sophisticated. The language she uses can be flowery and convoluted, making it sometimes difficult to fully grasp the essence of her stories.

However, despite all these initial misgivings, something strange happens when I reach the end of her works. I can't stop thinking about them. The stories linger in my mind, haunting me long after I have put the book down. There is a certain quality to her writing that is both disturbing and captivating. It makes me question my own perceptions and beliefs, and forces me to look at the world from a different perspective.

Maybe that's the power of great literature. It doesn't have to be perfect or easy to understand. Sometimes, it's the very flaws and imperfections that make it so memorable and thought-provoking. And in the case of Joyce Carol Oates, her overly dramatic and artsy writing style may be exactly what makes her work so unique and unforgettable.

After her mother tragically passes away in the very same car crash that severely injures Jenna, she finds herself in an extremely difficult situation, struggling hard to piece her life back together.

It's a rather typical narrative of a dead mother and the process of recovering from an injury. Fans who have a penchant for these two genres are likely to enjoy it. However, for those who are not particularly inclined towards such stories, there isn't an abundance of elements here that would compel them to give it a try.

The storyline follows a somewhat predictable path, with Jenna facing numerous challenges and setbacks as she attempts to heal both physically and emotionally. While there may be some moments of poignancy and growth, overall, it doesn't offer anything truly groundbreaking or unique to capture the attention of a wider audience.

Nevertheless, for those who are specifically seeking a story that delves into the themes of loss and recovery, it may provide a certain level of comfort and catharsis.

I read the entire book during the plane ride from Tulsa to Sacramento, which took about 3 hours or so.

It was a very easy read, yet it was good. Perhaps it was a bit too young adult for me, even though I have a love for YA literature. Nevertheless, I still found enjoyment in it.

I liked the concept of delving into the mind of a teenage girl who is dealing with a horrible tragedy. The story was heartfelt and filled with sentiment, but without being cheesy. Jenna, the protagonist, is a very likable character, and one can't help but grieve along with her.

Oates doesn't neatly wrap up everything. After all, grief is never truly over. And Jenna's journey to finding peace and forgiving herself is far from easy. However, the story is not without hope.

Overall, I would rate this book 3.75 stars. It was an engaging read that explored the complex emotions of a teenage girl in the face of tragedy.

A great book that delves into the process of overcoming a traumatic experience awaits you. Despite what the title might suggest, it actually focuses more on the suffering that ensued after the traumatic event rather than just the recovery. However, make no mistake, the recovery aspect is indeed monumental. Prepare yourself to step into the troubled mind and experiences of the protagonist.

Moreover, the writing style of this book is quite interesting. The author has a preference for using short sentences rather than long, detailed ones. This gives the narrative a somewhat choppy feel. But upon closer inspection, I think it is an intentional choice to mimic the train of thought of the narrator. So, although it initially gave me a jostled feeling, I came to appreciate the underlying purpose behind it. It adds a unique layer to the story and makes the reader more engaged in the protagonist's journey.

Oh? Another Joyce Carol Oates story that delves into the disturbing theme of young women being sexually abused by older men.

It's truly disheartening to see that in this narrative, no one has the courage or the means to press charges. As a result, the cycle of violence persists, as if it's just another ordinary day in the fictional world created by Oates.

Oh, and there's some other rather uninteresting stuff thrown in as well. There's a mention of a car crash and a hunky older boy, but it all reads in a way that makes it seem like it's lifted right out of an R. L. Stein book.

Overall, the story is just awful. It fails to engage the reader on any meaningful level and leaves one with a sense of disappointment and dissatisfaction.

Perhaps Oates could have explored this complex and important theme in a more nuanced and thought-provoking way, rather than presenting it in such a one-dimensional and unappealing manner.

Oates's books have a certain appeal, but it is mainly limited to a small group of teeny bopper girls.

At the beginning, the story line appears to be quite strong. The main character finds herself in a complete mess after losing her mother in an accident. What's more, she wrongly blames herself for the incident when in fact she is not at fault.

However, as the story progresses, the character makes one over-the-top bad choice after another. This continuous stream of poor decisions makes her plight seem somewhat trivial and less worthy of the reader's deep sympathy.

Moreover, the "happily ever after" ending seems a bit too much for the reader to bear. It feels almost forced and doesn't quite match the tone and development of the rest of the story. Overall, while there are some initial promising elements, the book ultimately falls short in several aspects.

This book may have been the worst book I've ever read.

It did not have a good story line at all. The plot seemed to be all over the place, lacking a clear direction and cohesion.

Some people may have thought it was a good book, but I did not think it was written well at all. The writing style was平淡无奇, and the characters were not developed enough to make me care about them.

It actually does not even deserve one star. I felt like I was wasting my time reading it.

I don't want to put more because of spoilers, but I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. There are so many other great books out there that are worth reading instead. Save your time and money and pick up a different book.