Shelby Richmond leads an otherwise unremarkable life until the one night that her best friend's future is destroyed in an accident that Shelby walks away from. Living with the guilt, Shelby is a survivor, but with a pretty bleak outlook on life. This story shows us a young woman who is making her way in the world. Living in New York City, Shelby knows what she likes: Chinese food and rescuing dogs. What she doesn't like is the man she's living with, who she feels she is unable to love. As time passes, she finds herself in a circle of lost and found souls, and what her own place in this world is.
Alice Hoffman is one of my favorite authors, and this book ranks right up there with ones I've read multiple times (The Ice Queen, and Blue Diary). Hoffman sometimes employs a bit of subtle (and sometimes not subtle) magic into her stories and while this one doesn't have overt magic, it still has the feel of something extraordinary shimmering underneath the ordinary.
Shelby is a compelling character, at once spiky and odd, but honest and true to what she believes herself to be. As the story continues, we see her get to know herself, and figure out how what she believes about herself and the world fits into the real world. Throughout the story, she receives postcards from a mysterious stranger, whose simple instructions encourage her. I liked how the story felt realistic and hopeful, even though things that happen in the story aren't always happy and wonderful. Hoffman has a beautiful writing style, and I tend to feel completely transported into her stories.
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