Wow- powerful and moving. ( )

Told from the perspective of 16-year-old Liv, this book deals with all of the ramifications of an accidental shooting that leaves Liv's older brother the victim of a traumatic brain injury. This is a beautifully written book filled with insights and emotional moments that we can all identify with. I look forward to reading more from this author. ( )

It's very clear that Betty Culley has experienced some of the emotional landscape in this book, either personally or professionally. She also captures hardscrabble Maine, the part I'm very familiar with, as well as Gerry Boyle. Written in verse form, this takes readers through a bleak physical and emotional landscape, part of rural Maine where hope left when the local mill closed, sadly a reality in more and more towns. What transpires as you follow the events after Jonah accidentally shoots himself in the head, is first a fracturing between neighbors, so well described as Liv and Clay's mom meet on the yellow line dividing the dead end street where they live like it was a demilitarized zone. Then you follow Jonah's care, with the personalities of the nurses caring for him playing their own roles, Liv's feelings about her brother, as well as Clay, the boy who was her brother's best friend and who she cares deeply about, then the events leading up to the negligence trial, pitting Clay's family against Liv's. You get to see Liv's inner monologue as she tries to connect with her brother in his new, nearly unresponsive form, deal with how unimportant school becomes and go through the trial and its aftermath. One scene that really illustrates the plight of those struggling when wages and benefits are inadequate, or nonexistent, comes when Liv deals with her mom's tooth. Read the book to see what happened. This is an excellent look at struggle, grief, love and the real Maine. ( )