Book Review~The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty

Title: The Center of Everything
Author: Laura Moriarty
Publisher: Hyperion
Publish Date: July 28th 2004 (first published July 2nd 2003)
ISBN: 0786888458 (ISBN13: 9780786888450)
Pages: 352
Links: Goodreads ~ Amazon
Summary: A dazzling debut in the tradition of Jane Hamilton and Mona Simpson. 

In Laura Moriarty's extraordinary first novel, a young girl tries to make sense of an unruly world spinning around her. Growing up with a single mother who is chronically out of work and dating a married man, 10-year old Evelyn Bucknow learns early how to fend for herself.

Offering an affecting portrayal of a troubled mother/daughter relationship, one in which the daughter is very often expected to play the role of the adult, the novel also gives readers a searing rendering of the claustrophobia of small town midwestern life, as seen through the eyes of a teenage girl. Evelyn must come to terms with the heartbreaking lesson of first love -- that not all loves are meant to be -- and determine who she is and who she wants to be. Stuck in the middle of Kansas, between best friends, and in the midst of her mother's love, Evelyn finds herself . . . in The Center of Everything.

Rating: 8/10
Cover Talk: I like the cover. It's simple yet catchy. It's....refreshing. But it's not like the story.

My thoughts: I did not read this book with the intention of reviewing it so please forgive me if the review isn't that good. I liked it. I didn't love it. But I didn't hate it either. It was good. It is not a book I would want to read again but I'm not sorry that I read it. It was a fun read. How should I put it? I guess it was a slice of life. And I enjoyed it.

Starting: The starting was kinda boring. Not too catchy. It didn't really attract me. But the thing with me is that if I start a book I have to finish it no matter how much I hate it. So I kept reading. And it got a lot better later on.

Story: The story was good. It was about a girl, Evelyn's life. I liked it. It was different, I mean it was new for me because I haven't read a story like this one before.

Writing: The writing was interesting and beautiful. I think it was the writing that gave the book life. Not the best. But not the worst either.

Characters: Though I did not feel any emotional attachments to the characters, I liked them. Evelyn reminded me a lot of Laila from A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini and Travis of Tariq from the same book. I liked Travis and I would've wanted to hear more of his story. I personally did not like Deena. Neither did I like Evelyn's mother. But those things didn't really bother me much. What bothered me was that when Evelyn was young she was really mature. But when she grew up she was naive. I just don't see how a person can be mature when she's supposed to be naive, and naive when she's supposed to be mature. Anyways, all in all the characters were real and likable.

Ending: The ending....was not what I expected. It wasn't an ending. It was like the author was going to write a sequel so she left it unfinished. But there is no sequel. And I don't think Laura is planning on one either. So I was not satisfied with the ending. If I had to say, I would ask Laura to write a sequel to this book continuing Evelyn's life at college. I for one would definitely read it.

Overall: All in all it was a very good novel. I would recommend it if you are in the mood of reading a book about life.