Fifteen-year-old Jenna Abbott just knows she’s to blame for the accident that killed her mother. As far as she’s concerned, she should’ve died, too. The horrific injuries upon waking are only the beginning. For a while, she can escape everything by going “into the blue.” Soon enough, she faces reality: her mom is gone; her estranged father wants her to join his “new” family in La Jolla—clear on the other coast; her family has to sell the house that belonged to Jenna and her mom; and Jenna will have to transfer to a new school—scars and all.

Jenna defines her life as “before the wreck” and “after the wreck.” Before the wreck, she had friends, was on the track team, and was a fairly normal teenager. After the wreck, pain, loneliness, leave her alone, did she see something on that bridge, did she grab her mother’s steering wheel, she doesn’t want new friends, she finds a friend, her new friend has a crapload of her own issues, and then there’s Crow…

The writing reflects Jenna’s state of mind throughout her ordeal. Immediately after the wreck, her thoughts are confused and fragmented due to her head injury and pain medications. Her mind clears, but nothing else seems to, despite time’s insistence on pressing forward.

Oates masterfully steers the reader along Jenna’s ride from shattered mind and body to beyond. The novel is as hopeful as it is solemn. I highly recommend this book for teens who have been through tragedy. I especially recommend this book for anyone who is close to a teen who has been traumatized. It will offer meaningful insight into things that sometimes can’t be spoken aloud.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
9/5/2006

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