This book reminded me of The School For Dangerous Girls. The book begins with an epilogue, which creates the mystery that drives the story told in retrospect by 16 year old Lida. Lida is dropped off at the Alice School for Girls in Idaho by her father and stepmother and so begins her journey into the wild and not only the million acres of forest that surround the camp. Every girl at AMS has her “thing” but Lida is determined to keep hers a secret. Resident bad girl, Boone, cuts off Lida’s hair the first night which is her way of welcoming Lida. Eventually, Lida and Boone begin to trust one another but the arrival of exotic new girl, Gia, changes the dynamics because Boone hates her. Lida appears to fall in love with Gia but it’s unclear and readers may be confused on this point. She begins to trust Gia and shares her “thing” but Gia never returns the favor and later betrays her. Events very slowly build to the denouement which will make some readers impatient. The epilogues sprinkled throughout help build suspense to a shocking conclusion. ( )

It took a good while for the characters to flesh out but even by then I didn't feel the motivation for Lida's crush on Gia. The tension between Boone and Gia was more compelling than Lida being stuck in the middle of them. Readers who stick with it may be touched by the themes of self-image, perception, and choice. ( )

I wanted to like this much more than I did. ( )

4.5 Wonderful writing, beautiful palpable setting, great character development, effective use of metaphors—there’s a lot to recommend this book. An engrossing, psychological read, Saldin explores interesting themes (including the healing power of nature, self-perception, and dealing with life and decisions when you can’t turn back time). Sometimes a book address big themes like the meaning of life, and in my eyes they fall a bit short—like the epiphanies themselves don’t match the tone and supposed profundity. I did not find that to be the case here—I thought the moments of realization were well done, appropriate, and meaningful.

Interspersed throughout the book are portions of the epilogue that refer to a need to tell “the truth,” and what happened to “us.” They’re a bit of a tease, but I think they do pique the reader’s interest and create a sense of impending doom. But this book may not be for everyone. It’s not a warm and fuzzy story. The ending might not sit well with some readers—it’s hard to take. But it would make for a good discussion. ( )

Alice Marshall is an alternative school for girls in the middle of the wilderness, and every one who goes there has the burden of their own "Thing" - the reason they find themselves at their secluded school. When Lida first attends Alice Marshall she meets polar opposites "Boone" and Gia. Little did she know, those two girls would get her into the kinds of situations she thought she was there to avoid.

What I really appreciated about this story was how it showed the complex relationship between the girls. The relationships they have in private, how they act together in public, and the odd added effects of what happens when one is surrounded almost entirely by girls one's own age every day. That being said... I really didn't get Lida's relationships with Boone and Gia. More prominently, her relationship with Gia was dysfunctional and seemed to not be real. Although she offers an explanation in the end, I still don't see how her actions reflected how she was supposedly feeling and thinking.

Overall, I did keep reading. The plot was very secretive; it held onto little bombs of information throughout the whole of the novel. Although it was slightly infuriating, it was effective at getting me to turn the pages. It takes a while to figure everything out. What I liked about this was that the story was told from alternating past tense and journal entries in the present. That aspect added to the intrigue dropping just enough hints to keep the reader guessing. ( )