Harriet Klausner's Review Archive
Angry with the school’s cavalier treatment of cheating in which they try to make her feel guilty, Carley resigns from the school and heads south. In Mississippi she meets her Great Aunt and other relatives who she never knew existed. Carley also wants to help heal a new friend, who is still grieving from a hit and run death of a loved one that happened six years ago and never was solved. However, an unknown person pressures her to back away from the Gweneth Brown vehicular homicide.
This is an inspiring tale that focuses on the human need for nurturing, belonging and actualization from friends and family something that Carley never received from her mom or anyone else until she came to Tallulah. The hit and run mystery adds suspense that Lawana Blackwell blends nicely into the prime theme, but also takes away from Carley’s efforts to adapt to a reengineered world in which people care about her and if she can learn to accept that she would never be alone again. Ms. Blackwell provides a deep character driven novel on the importance of being loved.