6 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
June 25, 2003
A two-ring circus is a good way to think of this book. In the first ring we have Faith Duckle, who's gang-raped at a Homecoming game, institutionalized, and who goes on the run after maiming one of her attackers. In the second ring we have Annabelle Cabinet, the fugitive who joins the circus and sort of makes friends while scooping elephant waste. And in the third ring of the circus we have...nothing, which is the problem, because we readers need a better idea of what Faith/Annabelle is going to become once she deals with her problems.
The obvious flaw of this book is that the author rushes to an unsatisfying sort-of-happy ending without any real resolution of the conflicts brought up in the story. Because Faith/Annabelle never really deals with her problems, is never forced to face the music for assaulting her classmate, the reader is left with the idea that when you have a problem, run from it and deal with it sometime later. In other words, Faith/Annabelle lives in a fantasy world where there are no consequences for her actions. In fact, one could say that her horrible act of violence leads her on the road to happiness. Is that really what the author WANTS us to think after reading the book?
It's too bad the ending is so rushed, because the rest of the book is decent. It showed a lot of potential for a first novel. In the final analysis, though, I can't recommend this book, unless you're willing to come away unsatisfied for paying for a 3-ring circus and getting only 2-rings.
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