99 Days (99 Days Series, #1)

by Katie Cotugno

[Sam@WLABB]

For most of the book, I sort of felt bad for Molly. She made a bad choice, which was revealed by her own mother on a national scale, but I thought Contugno built a good case for why it was not necessarily as bad as it was being made out to be. However, about 75% through the story, I was throwing my own epitaphs her way, as she made more and more bad choices. Then, as the story plays out, I find a little more sympathy for Molly.

I went into this thinking it was a romance, but it isn't. I mean, there are romantic parts, but in the end, I think it was a coming of age story. When all was originally revealed, Molly ran. She left town, and never looked back. Being back in her hometown, she had to face the original issues, and had time to reflect on what and why things happened. She learned a lot about herself, thought about her relationships, and grew as a person.

It was sad, that one night ended many of the most important relationships in her life: with Julia, Patrick, Gabe, and even with her own mother. I was glad some of those relationships were able to be saved. I was not totally rah-rah about the ending, but I did like that Contugno did not shut the door on all the relationships. Even though I could not get behind all Molly's decisions, I had to keep listening to this story. I liked the writing and the characters and found myself invested. Overall, a good read.