book 3

Leaving Unknown by Kerry Reichs
358 pages

This was a lovely book. Definitely a great read, and, as usual, I couldn't put it down.  A much better story than the first book by Kerry Reichs - this book didn't take 100 pages to get into.  Although there was a lot of attention to detail again, and there were also quirks among characters that were really annoying, such as Maeve always rhyming stuff even when they don't necessarily rhyme (What's up, duck").

Maeve Connelly decides to take a road trip to start over in L.A.  On her way, her car breaks down in Unknown, Arizona, and she is stuck there for a very long time.  First she has to wait for the town's only mechanic to return from a gambling binge, then she has to raise the money to pay for the part to her 1970s car (a 1978 plymouth road runner, admittedly a very hot car!!!).  The town's many characters are endearing and very cute.  The whole time, you totally want Maeve to stay, although it is clear she wants to finish what she starts and make it out to L.A.  HEt long pit stop is definitely an unfortunate accident, where she discovers much about life, people, and mostly herself.

There are parts of the plot that were unexpected and others that were very expected.  Overall, it was a pleasant mix of the two.  This book didn't make me cry (a sign of an amazing story!), but it did make me laugh and definitely warmed by heart.

A few gripes: like the debut novel by Reichs, there were some typos and misprints that made me feel like her editor or publisher kind of blows it on the details.  The drawings for the picture book were very dark.  This annoyed me to no end, because I'd have liked to see the details and not have to strain to see what was going on in some of the pictures.  And, of course, my earlier gripe about the stupid rhyming.  The dialogue was better than the first novel, though, and totally less forced.  The wit came easily, instead of forced, as it had seemed in The Best Day of Someone Else's Life.

I'd recommend this book for anyone looking for a light read that has some seriousness to it.  Enjoy!