My Never Ending List

Anya is twelve, living with her Nana and her two siblings.  Her Nana health is deteriorating yet she is the guardian of the family since the parents are dead.  Mother was shot unintentionally while she drove to visit relatives, the shot was meant for her father. Father was shot a while later while Anya and her sister hid under his desk and he lay dead in his chair. Her brother Leo was in the car with mother and suffered injuries that left him incapable of taking care of himself.  It’s a large price to pay for having a notorious father in the world of crime.  Anya’s family is still working in the world of illegal chocolate for which Anya could care less about, her concerns are on her immediate family and school.  Charles takes a liking to Anya but with a father in DA, the backgrounds of these two are like fire and ice.  Anya’s father worked in the mafia and Charles father works in the District Attorney’s office, it’s a strange combination.  Anya ex-boyfriend Win gets poisoned from chocolate and Anya gets thrown into a circle of prisons, family ties, and the law.  All new setting for Anya and one for which she doesn’t know who to reply upon.   Family members come out of the cracks to offer support as that is what family does, the law tries to come down on Anya and her friends are trying to be supportive.  She hasn’t much time to figure out her fate and the fate of her family.

I was confused at the beginning of the book but after about the first 50 pages, I was in the swing of things.   The setting is in the future, where many things are rationed or just not available.  The fate of the family is in jeopardy for as when Nana dies, Leo will become legal guardian but considering his state of mind, that will become a problem.  He is unstable so if this happens and the state finds out, Anya and her younger sister will end up living in a state owned facility which is not ideal.  Add this stress to the stress of the chocolate situation and the stress of the relationship with Charles.  There is quite a bit going on.  I wanted the relationship with Charles to work and it seemed they did too but so many other things came into play, nothing is ever easy.  Anya had her namesake to consider when dealing with the chocolate situation.  She didn’t want anything to do with the mafia side of the business but she also had hope and she was determined.  Big dreamer, or just someone who wanted change?