Rating: 2.5 stars (out of 5)
Genre: fiction
Review: There are lots of good things about this book. The main character, Sarah, is incredibly well drawn. Anybody who has ever been in a similar situation of people are being mean for no apparent reason will understand exactly how she feels, and Gordan captures it very well (I expect the same is true for the abuse situation). Gordan also gives us several excellent twists toward the end of the story, making it well worth the read.
Unfortunately, there are also some serious flaws, the biggest of which was that I was never able to figure out the motivation of Sarah's employers. Is there such a huge stigma against single mothers in Australia that would explain how mean they were to Sarah? That seems to be what Gordan suggests throughout the book. Or perhaps we're meant to understand that there's something fishy going on with the new management? I kept getting the feeling that there was supposed to be more. I thought there would be some revelation of bribery or kick-backs or something, but the answer seems to have been simply that all the people who worked there (with one exception) were just nasty people who enjoyed making Sarah's life miserable. The motivation of every character doesn't have to be crystal clear, but the treatment Sarah receives at the hands of her employers and "colleagues" forms a large part of the story, and not being able to understand why they were acting as they were was very frustrating.
FTC Disclaimer: I received this e-book free from the author in exchange for this review.
