Good and Gone

by Megan Frazer Blakemore

[Sam@WLABB]

Good and Gone delivered a more complex story than I was expecting, and I loved every second of it. This was an important road trip for the Greene siblings, because it helped them find a way back to each other and themselves.

•Pro: Sibling stories - love them! Lexi and Charlie's relationship was quite strained at the onset of the story, but while on the road trip, they reminisced and also confessed the secrets they were harboring and this precipitated their reconciliation.

•Pro: There was a lot of great banter and discussion in this book. I would expect no less from the children of two college professors. Well done, Ms. Blakemore!

•Pro: I am a fan of the Then and Now format. I had a good idea from the very beginning what was wrong with Charlie, but I knew there was more to Lexi's bad attitude. Slowly, through the alternating timeline, we learned about Lexi's relationship with Seth. Blakemore did something interesting with the Then portion too, it wasn't in chronological order. The jump around was a great way to keep the source of Lexi's anger a secret for a little longer, but I also felt like I had more time to witness her conflicted feelings and confusion regarding her role in what had happened. A lot of the Then parts were difficult as I watched what should have been something beautiful for Lexi turn into something toxic.

•Con: It bothered me that Seth was not confronted and punished. I guess maybe that didn't fit with the overall goal of the story, but I needed him to pay for what he had done.

•Pro: There were a lot of things that happened in the story that seemed random, but eventually, all those small random things were tied together, and I loved it when I had my "a-ha" moment.

•Pro: The Greene parents were present in this book. They were all wrapped up in Charlie's issues, but fairness to then, they had no idea what Lexi was dealing with. They did reach out though, and often reminded their children that they were there for them, and that they loved them.

•Pro: I really appreciated how Gwen was used, in the Then and Now. It was important for me to see that there were parts of Lexi's pre-Seth life that were still salvageable.

•Pro: I really felt Lexi's wide range of emotions, and the author captured her fear and self loathing especially well.

•Pro: This book touched on some really serious topics, but Blakemore handled the topics in such a way, as to keep the book from becoming too heavy. There were some moments with a lot of gravity, but they were balanced out with humor and happier moments.



Overall: A story of a shattered girl, who slowly put herself back together, piece by piece, mile by mile.

*I would like to thank the publisher for the review copy of this book.

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