"insightful character study"

Her dreams ended six years ago with the car accident that killed her mom and turned her dad into a paraplegic. Six years ago Augustina Fletcher was planning to go to an out of state graduate school; those dreams are dead along with her mother whom she loved and still misses. However, someone had to stay home in Missouri to care for her father and raise her younger sister Saphi. Though a teen at the time of the tragedy, Augustina did her best, but Saphi ran away anyway.

In her twenties, Augustina feels old and tired as responsibility cripples her. Her salvation is routines and the nearby Mississippi River, which enables her to fantasize about floating away from her world. Now Saphi is back, but Augustina resents her fleeing while dumping all the work on her. She wonders if marriage to Colton is the right thing for her especially since she cannot stand his bossy mom and is not sure she loves him. Augustina considers just leaving town and let Saphi deal with responsibility not yet aware that her sister is a widow still in mourning.

This is an insightful character study of a young woman who feels the weight of responsibly has caused her essence to vanish and to get it back she feels she must leave in order to find her own world, but that is no option for those left behind. Augustina is as a deep character as any recent novel has produced because the audience knows her as well as they know themselves. Her feelings of trapped hopelessness and despair with no future let alone present though only in her twenties make for a deep somewhat maudlin tale that will have readers compare their life situations to that of Augustina.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted November 5, 2006

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Summary

Six years ago, Augustina Fletcher's future plans were shattered when a car accident took her mother's life and left her father paralyzed. Augustina left graduate school to care for her father and rebellious younger sister, Saphi. But without her mother's humor and wisdom guiding her, Augustina felt helpless under the weight of responsibility, especially after Saphi ran away.

But now Saphi's back, and all Augustina's choices—even her decision to marry respectable Colton Morley—seem wrong. And as she begins questioning her life, she realizes that getting answers just might require a tumble into the unknown.