Kind of disappointing
The novel starts out rather strong, introducing a mysterious conflict right off the bat. The next large chunk of the book back tracks to the childhood of the narrator, Amy, to paint a picture of about four important years that lead to the present crisis. Once those 3 or 4 years are explicated, we zip through ten more in a chapter, then pop back to the present day and the now understandable crisis. Which is quickly resolved. Then the author goes on for the last 1/3 of the novel, covering the next 10 years in Amy's life and the fallout / aftermath from that time. Unfortunately, as enchanting as the childhood years seemed, and as well as they were written (nice insights, well said, interesting characterizations), once we're mired in the adult years, the magic is gone. It is indeed mislaid, and rather alarmingly, too. Everything felt like an anticlimax, and I just wanted to get to the end, to see the ultimate resolution. It was not unexpected--still sweet, somehow, and true to the characters, but no longer terribly interesting. People who felt important only a few chapters earlier are suddenly gone, or otherwise weak and lacking impact on the storyline. This novel is not quite worth the time, though the childhood years almost make up for it.
