The book starts with the aftermath of a car accident. Shelby Richmond was driving and slid on ice; her best friend ended up in a coma. Shelby has terrible survivor's guilt and has a nervous breakdown. Gradually, she puts her life back together with the help of her loving mother, Ben, her pot dealer and lover, a new friend Maravelle, and a mix of dogs. Through all the ups and downs, Shelby clings to the postcards she receives from "her angel," the unknown man who sat by her the night of the accident until the ambulance came.
I've never read a bad Alice Hoffman book, but this one might be one of my favorites. The writing is excellent, with all the little details that make Shelby such a genuine and caring person, despite how she goes off the rails for a while. Her interactions with Maravelle's family and how she stole her dogs to save them show that she does not deserve the self-loathing she feels after the accident.
It's a beautiful story that I savored, and I can see myself rereading this in the future. Meanwhile, I highly recommend it. ( )

I have to admit that I am a big fan of Alice Hoffman. While I have not read all of her book, she has written a ton of them, I have read quite a few to get her voice down. When I was notified I would be able to read Faithful early*, I did a happy dance. It took me a bit to get to it, but after finishing, I have to write that I thought it was an ok book, but an ok Hoffman book is still pretty strong compared to other authors.

The story begins with an car accident involving two HS girls- Shelby and Helene. Helene is left brain dead and is propped up in a bed while Shelby walked away with a small broken bone, but a load of guilt. She blames herself and goes into a mental breakdown that lands her in a psych unit, where she is raped by an orderly. It is then that Shelby declares she has lost her soul. She shaves her head and lives most of her life without caring about anyone.

She eventually re-meets Ben Mink her weed dealer who falls for Shelby. Shelby will float throughout her life, eating Chinese food, and looking at the world with a different lens. Eventually she will fall into another family's drama and become the listening post for the kids in the family. Postcards also find their way into Shelby's life, but what do they mean?

As you can tell from the small blurb, I am having a bit of difficulty relaying Shelby's story as it is almost two separate books with one part taking up about a quarter of the book and the rest another story for the final 3/4ths. It all centers on Shelby though as she ages and carries these traumas-accident and then rape- and guilt- for the accident- for all of her life.

Shelby is a complex character and Hoffman does a beautiful job of creating her. She makes seemingly wrong decisions, she keeps trying to be closed off and the world won't let her, and it seems she desperately wants to be free of it all. Some of the other characters are not too developed, but they are in the very real sense minor characters.

What was difficult for me was the premise of a girl without a soul was so good and the books seems to be heading one way, but once she connects with the other family it takes a turn that felt a bit movie of the week. The girl without a soul gets her heart melted by cute kids and rebellious teens. It isn't written like a movie of the week, mind you, but it just felt a bit disconnected from the rest of the book.

It wouldn't be the first Hoffman book I would recommend, but it was still worth the read. I didn't care for the reveal of who was sending the postcards. I won't spoil it, but it would have almost been better without a reveal as it lends itself to the idea of a semi religious angle.

I gave this one only 3 stars.

*I want to thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy of the book. I received it for free in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Shelby and her friend are in a horrible car accident, which leaves her friend in a coma. Shelby deals with survivor’s guilt and depression. She moves in with a person she does not care about and treats him poorly. Her family’s situation is not conducive to healing. She struggles to piece together a life after more than one traumatic experience.

I had previously read and enjoyed a book by Alice Hoffman, but this particular book felt like it was written by a different person. It is almost, but not quite “young adult.” I say almost because it deals with adult content, such as rape, drugs, and attempted suicide.

It starts with a glimpse of spirituality, but this aspect is soon forgotten. Somehow Shelby retains the good favor of many people despite how poorly she treats them. Her path through the darkness of survivor’s guilt is mostly covered by repetitive remarks about what a horrible person she thinks she is. This is a novel that remains mostly on the surface with little exploration of deeper thoughts or learning from experiences.

I am not generally a fan of contemporary fiction, and this one falls into some of the same traps that I do not care for, such as melodrama, rescuing of the heroine via romantic relationships, and many unlikely events. If it is intended to be hopeful, it did not come across that way to me. It felt unreal and unsatisfying. I think I will stick to Hoffman’s historical fiction, such The Marriage of Opposites, which I enjoyed very much. ( )

2.5. It was ok. Spent a long time wondering if I should give it up but it improved a bit towards the end, finally.... but for the dogs I would have packed it in ( )

Even though some part in the beginning are almost unbearable to read this novel captured my attention right away. I almost could not put the book down. Alice Hoffman deftly sketches Shelby Richmond's guilt, self- loathing and confusion, followed by her struggles to get a hold of her life. However, I think that the ending could have been a little more realistic, instead of almost literally driving off into the sunset. ( )