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judith
There was never any closure with Duke, Lara left Tom Lake without even saying good-by & says she'd been waiting for him to call, it's that simple. She lost her identity & self-respect that summer & hadn't recovered, so when he called she went out of old patterns, but this bizarre encounter broke the spell.
Donna
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Amy Reay
Even though this scene makes Duke even more of jerk and makes us feel disappointed and disgusted with Lara, it makes the characters real. If fictional characters only behaved properly and the way we would want them to, books would be boring. This situation made Lara finally understand how toxic Duke was in her life.
Lisa
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Mary
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Cheryl
I do think Duke was Emily’s father after all. There is a line that says when you are young you can change your mind. When I reread the abortion part, it isn’t clear if she went through with it. It says she “had no regrets.” Earlier in the book she writes that when Joe saw Duke with Emily on his shoulders, his heart stopped. I think she met Joe not long after the last encounter with Duke and who is the father is a secret she always kept.
Dana Booth
I think that visit to the hospital had to happen as well as the abortion, before she could fully let go.
Lydia
I think she was so lacking of any self esteem that she did anything he said without thought. Not a likeable characteristic.
Kristi Steen
Agreed. I went from a five star review to a not sure how to mark it.
Letha
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Johanna Park
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Robin
I think she was still in love with him and needed closure. Lara hadn't formed any romantic relationships after Duke and seemed unable to let go until then. Also, her grandmother had passed away leaving Lara lonely, heartbroken, and adrift. After the summer at Tom Lake, Lara’s self esteem suffered once she realized she wasn’t as talented at acting as she had once believed. Maybe Duke represented a part of her- or at least her lost dreams- that she wanted to reconnect with on some level. The visit and resulting abortion were her rock bottom moments. Thankfully she was able to pick herself up and move on from there. The crisis propelled her forwards, which seemed believable to me.
Laura
She agreed to it because she never disagreed with Duke. Did whatever he wanted.
Sally
The quote "we remember the people we hurt so much more clearly than the people who hurt us". Question: from my reading of the book she appears to remember Duke, who uses her and abuses her, very clearly. So I can't agree with this quote or have I misinterpreted Lara's recall of Duke?
Luceli
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Sue Rupnow
Wait what? What abortion? How did I misscthat part in the audiobook?? Now I have to go back and listen to that part again
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