From the Kitchen of Half Truth

This novel started out as an award-winning short story, and I can see how it would have worked better in that format. As a full-length novel, the author becomes repetitive, hitting the reader over the head with the message instead of using some subtlety and trusting that the reader will figure it out. The relationship between Meg and her mother is poignant and lovely, but Meg's boyfriend is such a cold, unfeeling jerk and the other prospective love interest is so utterly perfect that there is no suspense about her ultimate choice. Read it for Meg's search for the truth about her past, and skim through the rest.