The main plotline "You Don't Know What You've Got 'Til It's Gone" works well, but it's a loooooooong book that meanders quite a bit, with digressions aplenty. I had trouble buying into the voice of the protagonist suburban teen girl; I heard the author himself coming through regularly. On a couple of pickier notes: New Jersey doesn't allow self-serve gas stations and the Roman Catholic Priest would have likely been Eritrean not Ethiopian (with a less Swahili-sounding name!). The subplot involving the girl's father seemed unresolved without hearing both sides of the story.
That having been said, I can recommend the book, though not at full price for the hardcover (I read the APC).
That having been said, I can recommend the book, though not at full price for the hardcover (I read the APC).
