#63: Whatever Doesn't Kill You - Elizabeth Wennick

Jenna Cooper was only a few days old when her father was murdered and her family was shattered. Now fifteen, she daydreams of a picture-perfect sitcom family as she struggles with the gritty realities of her life. When Jenna finds out that Travis Bingham, the man who shot her father, has been released from prison, she becomes obsessed with tracking him down and confronting him. But her search reveals that there may be more to her father's murder than she has been led to believe—and will her relationships with her family and friends survive her obsession?

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers (April 1, 2013)
• ISBN: 9781459800830

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REVIEW:

Let me get right to what I didn't like about the story. Get this out of the way like pulling off a bandage, as painless as possible. I hate how the author made the setting look. I happen to be from Hamilton, the city in the story, and specifically from some of the main areas pointed out in the story, and was slightly wounded to be referred as a neighborhood of drunks and crackheads. Granted they are around. Realistically though, they are everywhere. Not just in Hamilton either. It was just the picture painted of my hometown throughout the book making it look like a shithole. Actually, that exact reference was used.

With that said, I somehow still liked the story. It was a story a lot of people will relate to. Not the murder thing, but somehow they will connect to the girl, Jenna. I can't explain it without giving things away, so you will have to read it to find out what I mean.

3.5/5

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