The Chance You Won't Return by Annie Cardi → Start Date: August 15th, 2014

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

Please join Vicki and I if you can!

[Vicki]

Thanks, Trisha! I plan to copycat you and use this for the 12th Two-Month Challenge. Lol

It looks especially good to me, too!

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

Right?! It was TOUGH finding books with volcanos and one with some kind of aircraft! LOL! I got lucky and already had this one from the library *phew* :D

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

yay! I can't wait to start tomorrow Vicki!!

[Vicki]

I know right? I can't wait because I'll have a whole weekend to read! :o)

[Vicki]

Finished with 5 chapters.

OMG Alex cracks me up! I was dying laughing when (view spoiler)[ she was unable to maneuver the car in a parking lot! LOL That was too funny, but in reality I know she'd be mortified! (hide spoiler)]

Jim Wiley (view spoiler)[I like him so far. I thought it was so cute that their connection was their lousy driving. LOL But he stood up for her and I really like that because kids can be SO cruel! And that crowd mentality is so hard for teens to resist. (hide spoiler)]

When Alex was driving in the (view spoiler)[ parking lot with Jim and going like three miles an hour..how cute was that? SUCCESS!! LOL (hide spoiler)]

Alex's mother (view spoiler)[ I have never had to experience a miscarriage or stillbirth, thank God, but I can certainly imagine the depression it would cause. I can't believe (no matter how hard I try) that Alex's father simply doesn't talk about it and says things like, "She's okay" or "She'll be okay." WHAT??? I'm blown away! I am curious as to where her thoughts of Amelia Earhart came from and why she thinks she is a pilot. (hide spoiler)]

When Alex (view spoiler)[had her 2nd accident and Mr. Kane called for a conference with her mother, I felt SO bad for Alex. I'm sure she might not realize it at this point but it's apparent to me that her mother has a mental illness of some kind. But to have it come out like that and at her school during a conference. I'm so sad for her...literally. I hope there is something good/encouraging that comes out of all this. (hide spoiler)]

[Vicki]

Finished Ch. 10 the halfway point. :o)

I am really enjoying this book. Its pace is steady and it doesn't have the action of an Armentrout Lux book, but it's very good and addresses an important issue.

Alex: (view spoiler)[Usually I like snarky and sarcastic, but I haven't liked it when Alex used it regarding her initial days of learning of her mother's illness and her mother being in a delusion of being Earhart. I thought it was snotty under that situation. I think now that she at least wants to love her mother and have her in her life as whoever she is, BUT she doesn't want anyone to know. I guess I can understand that, but mental illness is like diabetes. It's nothing anyone has control over getting. One can only learn to work with it or deal with it or use meds and other means to tame it. (hide spoiler)]

Jim Wiley (view spoiler)[I just love him. He is such a positive person in Alex's life. (hide spoiler)]

I'm really glad that Alex (view spoiler)[ drove (sort of LOL) with Mr. Kane and that he was encouraging. I was worried it wouldn't be "good enough" for him, but he came through. :o) (hide spoiler)]

I hope that at some point Alex can (view spoiler)[ be okay with telling those people in her life that she cares about that her mother is ill. It's nothing to be ashamed of. (hide spoiler)]

[Vicki]

Finished it. I'm a bit speechless.

I'll post tomorrow because it's 2:45 AM and I need to go to bed. LOL

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

so sorry, I'm only one chapter in
yesterday was just too crazy with tubing and american girl and the hotel :)
today's is my baby's actual birthday so I'll try to catch up :)

[Vicki]

Awe, wish her a happy birthday for me!

You know there's no worries!! I'm the one behind 99.99% of the time. Lol

I'm really curious to see what you think.

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

okay 5 full chapters finally! LOL ugh, busy busy days

Yikes. her mom (view spoiler)[ at first, with the lack of sleep, I really thought it might be Manic depressive - the traveling and all that

but thinking you're someone else? wow....that would be so scary to see. that you mom thought she was someone else!? (hide spoiler)]

her dad (view spoiler)[ I'm know, I'm pretty surprised by him. you would think he'd want the kids to rally around mom, taking care of her instead of trying to keep them away. no wonder the mom thought she needed to bounce right back :( (hide spoiler)]

Jim Wiley (view spoiler)[ adorable. I love that he stood up for her in a class :) (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

10 chapters

Alex (view spoiler)[ I completely agree. I don't like her (hide spoiler)]

but to be fair, Dad (view spoiler)[
OMG I'm completely floored by him

he didn't even tell the KIDS until the day before
he hasn't sought support groups (Free), school counseling (FREE) OR even found any resources. I KNOW they are out there. If my husband suddenly started exhibiting these signs, I'd reach out to everything looking for help. It's so odd to feel like he's done nothing but lump her back at the house and walk out so he can work (hide spoiler)]

I was completely (view spoiler)[ floored by how awful Katy and Teddy were that morning Alex tried to get them all ready
but then I remember how dad handled all this. They have no outlet, no one to talk to and the dad is just telling them not to encourage mom. What are they supposed to do. how confusing and scary for kids, to feel like your parents can suddenly disappear. awful (hide spoiler)]

[Vicki]

I agree with your spoiler, all of them!! At first I thought that Dad and (view spoiler)[(forgot her name)the lady that helped watch Mom were having an affair because I couldn't figure out his lack of action to help the entire family! Too sad! (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

okay I'm done....
I must admit, I'm not a fan. :(

mom (view spoiler)[ it feels so unresolved
and if that's how it was going to go, I'd like a least a little explanation. a little hope or idea of how to help the family. Alex is still taking care of the family and getting everyone ready
the kids are still....not coping
the dad still...sucks.
ugh...and I still don't understand what happened. why did the mom lose who she was? why is she grasping something different? why that moment did she change? what are they doing to get her back? (hide spoiler)]

I think (view spoiler)[ I was hoping for the book to really tackle the mental illness issue. It almost felt like a side issue. Alex was trying to figure out friends and a boy and juggling driving and home expectations
oh yeah, and her mom was mentally ill. I would have liked a little better idea of their day to day. It could not have been easy for her (hide spoiler)]

*sigh* it wasn't bad, it just wasn't the book

[Vicki]

I totally get how you feel! That's why I said that I don't know how to rate it because I had some of the same issues obviously! It was (view spoiler)[left really unresolved and I had no sense of "feel good" at the end whatsoever. I thought about 3 (I rarely give 2's LOL), but I did think the writing was beautiful so I went with a 4. It's so hard to know how to rate some books. This one was seriously depressing. (hide spoiler)]

[Vicki]

I love reading with you! :o)

I love the blind date challenge. Hope I get someone who'll actually complete it with me this time. My partner read a little and posted one thing and that was all. No idea if he finished it, loved it, hated it. :o(

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

oh no!!! So sorry your partner disappeared on the blind date

my partner hasn't arrived on the Pick me a Winner challenge :( I hope they show soon!

I know, I love reading books with you too!

It's amazing, the first time we've both not totally loved a book. Okay, maybe not first time but first time in a while. this book was an odd one. I think if I'd gone into this one with different expectations, I wouldn't feel let down. but the mental illness was so interesting to me (and what I thought would have been a great story of how it affect the family). I wish that had been this book. oh well. I know there are other great ones out there that tackle mental illness :D

Fractured will definitely be better lol

[Vicki]

Haha! It better be! I totally agree with you though because I also thought the book would tackle mental illness and I so was not expecting that ending.