My Never Ending List

This book started out strong with the main character coping with the death of her mother. It was almost inevitable the fate of her mother with the lifestyle that she had chose to live. Following the plans, Arlie cleans up her mother’s body, disposes of the evidence and she makes sure that everything looks proper before calling the authorities. Arlie was not prepared for what lies ahead for her future. I like Arlie’s attitude as she was strong for being sixteen. She was used to being mature, independent and self-sufficient, taking care of her mother and herself as they hid from her stepfather after the accident. Arlie blames her stepfather for her mother’s drug addition, her mother’s criminal record and the scar that marks her face. As Arlie starts a new chapter on her life, she begins to realize how important drugs were to her mother. An unknown uncle welcomes the opportunity to be a part of Arlie’s life now. Arlie now has the chance to relinquish some of the burdens and responsibilities that she has been carrying so she can be relax and have the life of a teenager. Her uncle has big plans for their future, Arlie is just there for the ride for now and things at school are progressing rather quickly. I was surprised how fast Arlie adjusted to school. Arlie finds romance rather instantly, and this relationship occupies the rest of the book. There were some terrific moments in this relationship and some moments where I was bored with the drama being played out. This novel wasn’t as great as I had expected. I wondered after I got finished reading it, if perhaps I had missed something. Was there more to their relationship than what I discovered, was there something else based on her condition and his disability?