Leftovers by Laura Wiess (vacation read)

Blair and Ardith are best friends who have committed an unforgivable act in the name of love and justice. But in order to understand what could drive two young women to such extreme measures, first you'll have to understand why. You'll have to listen as they describe parents who are alternately absent and smothering, classmates who mock and shun anyone different, and young men who are allowed to hurt and dominate without consequence. You will have to learn what it's like to be a teenage girl who locks her bedroom door at night, who has been written off by the adults around her as damaged goods. A girl who has no one to trust except the one person she's forbidden to see. You'll have to understand what it's really like to be forgotten and abandoned in America today.
Are you ready?
(summary courtesy of Amazon)

This book was promoted as a sequel to Such A Pretty Girl, but I don't think it is. They both deal with tough issues in today's world, but that's where the similarities end. The characters, setting, and even perspective are different, which is nice. I don't think I could've read another book related to Such A Pretty Girl. Just reading that once was enough for me. Leftovers brings its own goods to the table and even though it's an extremely different type of narrative, I think it's just as good as the first book. The thing I liked best about it was the way it was told. The chapters alternate between who's telling the story and as they're telling the story, they are actually speaking into a recording device for a person who's revealed at the end. And even through that, they each have a different method of talking. One narrates as if you're actually her, and the other tells it like a diary. Those things helped to distinguish points of view and details of the plot which was quite handy because there are many little details to keep straight. This book is much more of a thinking and analyzing book than Such A Pretty Girl which was a refreshing difference. I also liked how the girls were down to earth, funny, and completely relatable, despite their terrible home lives and the horrible things they went through during the course of the story. They themselves were undeniably changed and as the reader, you got to be there to see them go through it. And the ending is flooring. I loved it so much. My one itsy bitsy complaint about this book was that I think the ages of the girls were a little bit unaccurate. I think, no I hope, girls who are in their freshman year of highschool wouldn't be going through the things that Blair and Ardith went through. But really, I don't know. The one thing I do know is that this is a seriously amazing book and it is a definite must read for any teenage girl of today. But as with the first book, beware of some explicit content.