Review Detail

Anyone who really knows me, knows that I’m a letter writing nut. I love writing and receiving letters (hint hint). So I was quick to request this book as soon as I read the blurb on Netgalley (that, and because I follow Mandy on twitter and there was quite a lot of talk of it there.)

This book is written entirely in letters (three?) from Madelyn to Bennet. And because of that, there is this connection that you develop with Madelyn, because you’re reading correspondence from one wounded person to another.

Right from the start, you can tell that this isn’t going to be one of those books where everything works out in the end. No sunshine, rainbows, and Happily Ever After. A 16 year old falling in love with her teacher is a relationship that is doomed from the start.

The basic premise of the plot is that a relationship built on a lie can never last. How one small omission of truth can lead to such terrible consequences.

I loved the characters. Both of them were totally believable, Madelyn as a young girl succumbing under the weight of her parents’ expectations, and Bennet as the young teacher who knows a relationship with a student would put him in a compromising position.

There was an ache in my heart the entire time while I read this book (finished it in under 3 hours, it’s a short read) and a weird feeling of emptiness when I finished it. Call me crazy, but even though the ending was predictable, I was hoping for a tearful re-union. Didn’t happen. But it doesn’t make the book any less likable, just makes it more believable.

I think I’ll go write a letter now.