Obsession with Books

Review: 3 ½ out of 5 starsThe Accident is the story of Sarah Starke, Will McAlpine and Eliat Singleton whose lives are in some form connected. With the backdrop of Sydney, Australia it is an engaging and thought provoking read.The characters: I enjoyed quiet, introverted Sarah the most, she has just started a new school and is trying to adapt to the recent changes in her family life as well as recover from the accident which happened a year prior; Will’s family life is difficult and I found his love of reading quite endearing but he came across as an unfeeling character and Eliat is in the foster system raising her two year-old daughter Tash but still living her wild lifestyle, she is the character I connected with the least because I didn’t feel she truly appreciated what she had and seemed oblivious to her own situation, as tough as it was.The plot: Was interesting with three very different characters trying to decide the directions they will take with their lives, the changes they needed to make and their purpose; I was intrigued by each of their differing situations and struggles and felt each grew as the book progressed despite the problems they faced. It showed that all actions have some form of consequence and I liked the underlying message.I felt the overall feel of The Accident was quite morose; I had to stop at one stage for a breather and a bit of light reading, the pacing of the first few chapters were quite slow and took me a while to get into but once I did, I was riveted. The characters show vulnerability and emotions true to their age which I appreciated, the story is told in time perspectives of Before, After and Later and it was all tied together in the end nicely.My biggest gripe with this book was trying to work out whose point of view each chapter was coming from, Sarah, Will or Eliat’s, it was especially difficult in the initial stages where we were still working out who is who but I came to get accustomed to each characters unique voice as I read along.The Accident was written extremely well, I enjoyed Ms. Hendrick’s style of writing and her characterisations. It is a book which evokes a lot of emotions and curiosity; it is a wonderful debut for Kate Hendrick and the Sydney setting I always find appealing.Thank-you kindly to Text Publishing for providing me with a copy of The Accident to read and review.