My favorite part about this book is the number of times I paused just to reread a sentence, either a description that made me laugh or wince–or sometimes a thought-provoking statement about life that made me pause and think. 

A great example comes from the opening scene at an art auction where Louisa observes a married couple: “the painting is smaller than she had imagined. Presumably the poor thing had imagined the sea being bigger. Her husband, an old man with a watch the size of a grown turtle and pants so tight his butt looks like it has its own butt, doesn’t even look at the painting, he just reads the sign next to it to see the estimated auction price…The woman says it’s a shame that it isn’t orange, because they have a lot of orange furnishings in the summer house this year. She says this in a tone that suggests she is also irritated that ice cream isn’t more like pickles, or that door knobs aren’t more like opera–-as if it is rather rude of the world, not to adapt to her every wish at all times” (p 5). 

That description made me laugh out loud and the following one, when Louisa quotes the famous Swedish poet Tomas Transtromer (whom I had never heard of), made me reflect: “Don’t be ashamed to be a human being—be proud! Inside you one vault after another opens endlessly. You’ll never be complete, and that’s as it should be” (p 425).

 The story’s main character is Louisa, an 18-year-old whose been in foster care most of her life. She’s lost her best and only friend and has been let down and abused by pretty much everyone else. Yet, she’s a fighter–sarcastic, witty, and independent.

Her story, which takes place in the present, pulls out the story of four childhood friends–the artist, CJat; Ted; Joer; and Ali–from 20+ years ago, all of whom are (or would be) nearing 40 when Louisa runs away from her last foster home at almost 18. The story primarily revolves around Louisa and Ted who end up traveling together after the artist’s most famous painting has been purchased at an auction. 

While Ted and Louisa’s continuous bantering gets a little old (and I thought the book got a wee bit drag-gy in the middle), their friendship, and thus the story of the four kids’ past, is engaging and heartwarming. It includes a whole lot of struggle, but their companionship and camaraderie is sure to be envied by most readers. It’s the kind of childhood bonds that nothing can break. 

This is a sweet story that shows how redeeming humanity can be.