Catherine C. (c-squared) reviewed on 3/30/2012 + 181 more book reviews

I read at least the first 50 pages, but didn't click with this book. I really loved The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, where Bender's use of magical realism worked for me. Here -- if that's what she's trying to do -- it did not. Her writing style was too matter-of-fact to mesh with the strange things that didn't quite add up: the crazy glass hospital that doesn't match the rest of the tiny town, her father's unexplained illness, her sudden appointment as an elementary teacher as a 20-year-old with just a high school diploma but who really loves math. I also didn't like how mean she was to her aunt (when her father first became "ill") and equally math-obsessed neighbor (several years later). Granted, kids tend to lash out when they're hurt and confused, but as a 20-year-old telling this story, she didn't seem to feel any remorse.

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