I enjoyed this one, mostly, but then I usually like Sarah Addison Allen’s books. Quick, easy and charming. The transitions from the present to the past and back again were fairly seemless. I’ve read a few authors who treat those transitions like that more as speed bumps, with the narrative either coming to a complete stop or veering in some unknown direction.
I too preferred Julia’s story to the teen drama. Normally I don’t mind the teen stuff – I read a fair amount of YA – so I expect it to lean more toward my life sucks, blah blah blah theme. But I thought the teen drama lacked something here, some kind of snap or spark. I liked the characters on their own, but together, they and the story were pretty meh.
The one thing I was disappointed with was the magic element. Normally with this author’s stories, the magic/supernatural plays a bigger part like the apple tree in Garden Spells or the magically appearing books in Sugar Queen. I’m sure the changing wall paper was supposed to highlight Emily’s story and her plethora of emotions as a teen and all the changes in her life. But it was never actually discussed or delved into. The Sweet Sense that Sawyer had was a little bit more prominent and a little better drawn, but it was still mostly in the background.
oh almost forgot, I adored Stella, the next door neighbor. In real life I’d probably do my best to avoid her, but as a character she was a fantastic addition.
