Life on Hold by Karen McQuestion

Title: Life on Hold

Author: Karen McQuestion

Publisher: AmazonEncore
Acquired: Received free for an honest review

Age Group: Young Adult

Grade: 84% or B
Buy It: Amazon

Gina and Rae Maddox are more like best friends than mother and daughter. Of course, free-spirited Gina’s rambling ways leave her daughter with little opportunity to make any other friends, as they constantly crisscross the country in search of “a fresh start.” But when Gina brings them home to her native Wisconsin, she promises Rae that this time, they’ll stay put...at least until Rae finishes high school. And when Rae begins to make friends at Whitman High, she dares to hope her mother is telling the truth. But then Rae is paired with another new girl, Allison Daly, whose bad attitude and unsettled family life put her at odds with Rae — yet draws her to Gina. When ugly rumors begin to fly about Allison’s past, Rae must choose between distancing herself from the troubled girl or using her own experience as an outcast to help her. The path she takes will not only change Allison’s life, it will affect Rae’s relationship with her mother and her understanding of her place in the world.

My Thoughts::
I procrastinated in reading this book because it just looked like it would be short and not fulfilling, but eventually I decided to read it because it looked quick and I wanted to cram in another book. But I gradually got sucked into the story and ended up enjoying it.

I really liked Rae's story. When I was younger we moved around a lot and I went to a lot of different schools and wasn't able to make friends knowing that I would probably have to leave them behind soon. I felt for Rae because I knew what she was going through. There were several points in the novel that I easily could have become annoyed with Rae, but I didn't because the author kept her away from that path. Her feelings felt genuine. So when she was upset she had a logical reason to be, and showed it in a way that didn't make me want to strangle her. Even though the book was short, I was able to see how she grew as a person without it being rushed or fake feeling. I felt the same way with her mother. At the beginning, I really liked her, like most kids like their friend's moms, but I soon realized that she was a selfish person, but she grew and changed as the book went on.

The idea of the book is really nice and genuine. The surprises with Allison were very unexpected, but looking back, they all also made a lot of sense. It's as if when you find these things out, they fill a hole that once existed in the story. The author did a good job in showing real emotions and actually teaching me a sort of lesson in compassion.

Overall I felt I grew when I read this novel. I would recommend this book to those who like the simplicity of a story without the added themes of sci-fi, dystopias, or fantasy.