JUMPING Around In Time

[Brantford]

The writing in this book is developed around short sentences and small concepts that jump around in time. The flow is often erratic. The situation is occasionally unclear, for example when Rachel is narrating the story and there are times you are not even sure if you are following Rachel's real memories or her imaginings.

What did you think of the writing in the book? Did it add to the mood of the story or did you ever find it irritating or hard to follow?

[Karen]

This definitely bothered me, I found it too erratic. I was constantly flipping back and forth looking at the dates. however, it obviously didn't stop me from enjoying the story/plot.

[Anna]

I wouldn't normally like this jumpy style of writing at all but I think in this book it added a lot of feeling or atmosphere. It suited the narrators personalities and the mystery aspect of the story. I certainly wouldn't want to read this type of writing all the time but for this book, I think it worked.

[Colleen]

I stopped trying to figure out at the beginning of each chapter where we were on the timeline. It normally became clear eventually, but I will admit, that I'm not sure I loved that aspect of the book. It think there was some validity to it however, since we are dealing with a whole bunch of people who aren't necessarily OK, so their narration is a bit wonky, which in turn make the jumping around a little more understandable.