When Melody Grace McCartney was six years old, she and her parents witnessed an act of violence so brutal that it changed their lives forever. The federal government lured them into the Witness Protection Program with the promise of safety, and they went gratefully. But the program took Melody's name, her home, her innocence, and, ultimately, her family. She's been May Adams, Karen Smith, Anne Johnson, and countless others--everyone but the one person she longs to be: herself. So when the feds spirit her off to begin yet another new life in another town, she's stunned when a man confronts her and calls her by her real name. Jonathan Bovaro, the mafioso sent to hunt her down, knows her, the real her, and it's a dangerous thrill that Melody can't resist. He's insistent that she's just a pawn in the government's war against the Bovaro family. But can she trust her life and her identity to this vicious stranger whose acts of violence are legendary?
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; Reprint edition (March 10 2010)
ISBN: 9780446582216
David Cristofano has earned degrees in Government & Politics and Computer Science from the University of Maryland at College Park and has worked for different branches of the Federal Government for over a decade. His short works have been published by Like Water Burning and McSweeneys. He currently works in the Washington, D.C. area where he lives with his wife, son and daughter. THE GIRL SHE USED TO BE is his first novel.
REVIEW:
A deeply emotional read.
Don't get me wrong, I wasn't sobbing through the story. No, this story was much more powerful than that.
No one can know what it is like to be in Witness Protection, unless they have been in the program. I always thought it would be like jail. No freedom. Always on the look-out over your shoulder, and this story, Melody's story, drove that notion home for me. She was never happy, not even content. She never settled down, nor was comfortable. That's not what living is about or how life should be. But that was her world.
I liked how real everything felt as the author took us through Melody's story. If asking myself, hypothetically, the same things, I am sure my reaction would be close to hers.
I also really liked the ending. It was bittersweet, and totally unexpected in a romantic way. I would have loved to know what happened to Jonathan in the end, but can live with what we got instead. It shaped things nicely in my mind.
4/5
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the second book tells you what happens with both of them
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a book I will really enjoy. I have been curious about the Witness Protection Program and also have thought it would be like a jail. I can see why this would be an emotional read. Great review. Thanks for sharing. :)
ReplyDelete~Jess