I liked a lot of what was happening in this book but it didn't all quite land. There was almost a tension between war stories, classical allusions, and something close to chick lit. I read an interview with Deborah Kogan where she said they made her change the title and make it look more girly. I thought about that a lot while reading and questioned whether the parts I didn't like had been edited in. It took me a while to finish this book. Vacations, work, and other things kept getting in the way. At one time, I must admit, I lost some interest in the storyline, but once I hunkered down, I found myself interested again. This story has some points that really resonated with me and my own history. At its heart,this book involves a journalist who has some issues with blackouts. She attributes her troubles to losing her best friend, April, in first grade. Unfortunately, back then April's mom decided to kill herself and her children by carbon monoxide poisoning. Both the perspective of April's mom and the journalist were explored. As a result, the story often dealt with depression and did a good job of explaining what causes a person to attempt suicide.
What do You think about Between Here And April (2008)?
Not my normal reading material but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Thanks Port Townsend for the free book.
—Mec
Lovely, hauntiing novel. Compelling narrative and fascinating characters. Couldn't put it down.
—sasha
