When I first read the marketing and book blurb materials for this book, I wasn’t all that interested.  I passed and didn’t give it a second thought.  Just didn’t look to be my cup of tea.  But it landed in my reading stack anyway and now, I am glad it did.

This book is the story of Annie.  She isn’t average by any means.  She lives in a palatial home in Colorado.  She has money.  She attends a private high school.  She doesn’t give a second thought to whipping out her parent’s credit card and spend, spend, spending.  But that’s all about to end.  She had her brother are shipped off to her aunt and uncle’s-whom they never have really met-while her father stands trial for a Ponzi scheme.  A scheme that Annie is completely in the dark about.  She understands none of the details.  

Breckinridge and the Town’s house turns out to be not so bad.  Annie gets a job and finds she enjoys being helpful and needed.  Annie meets new friends and finds she has real relationships with them versus the superficial ones she previously had.  Annie discovers herself.  She finds out the details of her father’s crime and comes to terms with what it means to her and her family.

What made me like this story is the message it sends regarding socioeconomic status.  That money doesn’t necessarily make you happy and the lack thereof doesn’t make you sad.  In the end, Annie also finds her voice through the ordeal and learns that being naïve doesn’t equate to being safe.

Overall, this was a good book.  Definitely for the older teen crowd due to the language and content, but a good book for teaching a lesson that is hard to learn.

Review of an Advance Reading Copy

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by G. P. Putnam’s Sons

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  67 religious exclamations; 27 mild obscenities; 4 religious profanities; 6 derogatory names; 33 scatological words; 15 anatomical terms; 21 f-word derivatives.

Violence/Gore:  Spoon is thrown at another; physical tackle with punches and kicks (no major injuries).

Sex/Nudity:  3 references to oral sex; 6 references to sex; recall of a “hand job”; man has noticeable erection; two instances of couples holding each other around waists; 5 kisses; one instance of hands up shirts on chest; reference to a person’s sexuality; 2 page scene of teens having sex with minimal detail; parent discusses impact of sex with teens; arm around shoulders.

Mature Subject Matter:

Socioeconomic status, infertility, infidelity, financial crimes, incarceration, teenage sex.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Teens and adults drink various forms of alcohol and smoke pot.