Abandoned by Booklikes

I have never read a book by Dana Reinhardt before but after reading We Are the Goldens I plan on checking out her other books. Told in the first person from Nell's point of view you get to see a young woman trying her best to step out of her older sister's shadow. Nell loves and in equal measure is jealous and at times hates her sister. I thought Ms. Reinhardt did a great job with Nell's voice and the confusion that she feels at falling for a boy and being jealous that this boy may like her sister more than her. I did feel at times that Nell's voice was a bit too old in certain parts. It only happened a few times, but other than that I thought Ms. Reinhardt did a great job capturing a teenager's voice.

I also thought it was very good that Ms. Reinhardt wrote the book in such a way that it seemed that Nell had written a letter to her sister to explain why she did what she did. You know in the beginning that something horrible is or did happen so that leaves the book with a very good deal of tension while you read.

I will say that though I liked the book I did not care for Nell. You don't have to love the narrator in a story you are reading and the fact that Ms. Reinhardt writes this book in such a way that you can sympathize with Nell, feel pity for her, and also realize that a part of her is happy that her sister is not so 'golden' anymore. I wish that part of the book had shown Nell being self aware enough to love her sister's downfall instead of her having her feelings of righteousness throughout her letter to her sister.

I would like to read a follow-up to see what happens at the conclusion of this book. Or to see a book written by Layla's point of view.

Please note that I received this book via the Amazon Vine Program.