Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale
hardcover | 478 pagespublished: February 2nd, 2012 by
Delacorte Press
When seventeen-year-old Rosie’s mother, Trudie, dies from Huntington’s Disease, her pain is intensified by the knowledge that she has a fifty-per-cent chance of inheriting the crippling disease herself. Only when she tells her mum’s best friend, ‘Aunt Sarah’ that she is going to test for the disease does Sarah, a midwife, reveal that Trudie was not her biological mother after all... Devastated, Rosie decides to trace her real mother, hitching along on her ex-boyfriend’s GAP year to follow her to Los Angeles. But all does not go to plan, and as Rosie discovers yet more of her family's deeply-buried secrets and lies, she is left with an agonising decision of her own - one which will be the most heart-breaking and far-reaching of all...
My thoughts:
When I learned about this book, I was excited to read it. I love contemporaries, because no matter their length they're usually fast paced for me. Until I actually got this book and realized how long it was.
Long.
Almost 500 pages.
And I'll be quite honest, some of it could have been slimmed down a little, but yet every bit was necessary in some aspect of the overall plot.We meet 17 going on 18 year old Rosie, she's just lost her mother to Huntington's and though she's completely devastated, she knows there's a 50% chance she could have inherited the disease. But she soon learns that not only is there no possibility that she has the disease, but she's not even her mother's biological daughter. When her boyfriend tells her he's going on a cross-world adventure for gap year, Rosie takes this as her opportunity to find her biological mother and let her know that she is still alive. She never expected what she got.
The adventure that Rosie and Andy find themselves in is a whirlwind of crazy that neither one had expected. They first arrive in New York and it's there that Rosie begins her search for her mother. I loved that Andy was there for her throughout this entire journey, even knowing her reason for joining him wasn't because she wanted to be with him but to find her birth-mother. He didn't really think twice about the future of the trip. But at the same time, that annoyed me. It seemed he was a little too invested in his love for Rosie.
I did not like the woman/mother before Rosie goes looking for her. I could just tell. And I was a little worried everything that would happen with her would be nothing but a publicity stunt. There was a part of the story that Rosie never finds out and that actually pissed me off. I felt like it was her right to know. For her to decide whether she wanted to pursue "it" or just go on with what she has now. The poor girl had lost everything and she really need something of her own to hold on to.
The actual characters were very well developed and established in their lives as well as the story. I loved the back and forth between Rosie's point of view and another very important character in the story. It helped me better grasp the story. No matter how crazy this other character seemed at times. This book had me almost crying near the end even though the information Rosie needed was still kept hush hush.
From UK to America. This is a roller-coaster ride of emotions from beginning to end you'll be glued to the pages!
4½/5 stars
Great review! I really enjoyed this one too it was like a Jerry Springer episode!!
ReplyDeleteWow!!! It sounds like this was one hell of a ride. Definitely intrigued after that review. I love page turners. There just aren't enough out there!!
ReplyDeleteYes it was! Can't wait to see what else Katie Dale has in store.
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