I got a lot more than I initially expected from this book. What I expected to be an easy read for my holiday, celebrating the triumphant recovery of the beauty queen and town sweetheart following a devastating accident actually went a lot deeper than I had anticipated. Jody’s journey back to life after being paralysed in a car accident is by no means easy, and this book explores this in great detail. Sherry Mayes handling of this subject is sensitive, keeping the harsh reality and emotional rollercoaster that Jody experiences, but at the same time including moments of happiness and laughter.
Jody is the popular girl who everyone wants to be friends with – beautiful, clever, privileged, everything the school Queen Bee needs, but when everything she valued is stripped away from her, she discovers who her true friends are. As she struggles to rebuild her life, you realise that none of them really knew her at all, and that she didn’t even really know herself.
It was only after I finished this book, actually a couple of days after, that I had the eureka moment when the title suddenly made sense. Only by stopping her world does Jody discover who she really is and what she wants from life.
Mai's Musings 