Title: Broken Soup
Author: Jenny Valentine
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 5/5
Why I Read It: I enjoyed Me, the Missing, and the Dead by this author, and this is her latest novel released in the US.

Summary: Rowan’s older brother is dead. Her father has left. Her mother sleeps all day, leaving Rowan to take care of her little sister. So when a stranger at the store insists she dropped a photo negative, she doesn’t have the energy to argue with him. But then she can’t get that mystery photo out of her mind. And who was that boy anyway?

Review: I luuuuurve this book! The story unfolds a little at a time, luring you deeper and deeper into what Rowan is going through. I admire how the author strings you along and keeps creating mystery in your mind. Jenny Valentine, please hurry and write more!

This is the type of novel I would love to diagram or use to practice plot-boarding.

Here’s a little from the first page to whet your appetite:

It wasn’t mine.

I didn’t drop it but the boy in the line said I did.

It was a negative of a photograph, one on its own, all scratched and beaten up. I couldn’t even see what it was a negative of because his finger and thumb were blotting out most of it. He was holding it out to me like nothing else was going to happen until I took it, like he had nothing else to do but wait.

I didn’t want to take it. I said that. I said I didn’t own a camera even, but the boy just stood there with this “I know I’m right” look on his face.

He had a good face. Friendly eyes, wide mouth, all that. One of his top teeth was chipped; there was a bit missing. Still, a good face doesn’t equal a good person. If you catch yourself thinking that, you need to stop.

Now go and read the rest!

Borrow: Your local library | Swap
Buy: Your local bookstore | Powell’s | Amazon

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