In the world there are many cycles, and sometimes they exist between you and you. The inner commentator never letting you speak, too afraid you'll only mess things up. The outer prtoector, trying to make you less visible, generally only make you more conspicuous. The friends who aren't real, but are better than loneliness. The truths buried in closets, because it's easier for some to pretend they never happened, even if nothing has been the same since, and the damage is still everywhere. Worrying that your haunted past will become your daunting future.

This is Lacie's world.

Her father's dead, he mother hides away in endless work, and Lacie is lost between the cracks of herself and a world in which she doesn't belong. Can't seem to fit in. Can't seem to get it right.

Bit by bit, her best friend's cruelness starts to become more apparent. Forced into agreeing to meet a boy, she soon realizes Benji is just about the only real thing in her life. Except for the ghosts.

Bit by bit, things get harder, and some get easier. Best friend Jenna is lost, but Lacie is found. Her mother begins to slowly come back, she begins to slowly move away. Away from the fake and the meanness she used to emulate. Away toward who she really is, and should be. Away towards Gretchen, returned to town after disappearing for years. Away into a perfect world, in which she does belong.

__________

This is James' third book, which I've so far read twice. When I read his newest and recognized the names, I went back to re-read the rest to find the delicate interweaving I mentioned in my Tomorrow, Maybe review.

The first time I read this book, Lacie reminded me very much of myself. The second time I read it, she reminded me of how I used to be. It was a really cool feeling to get a sense of personal growth like that from a book. Sometimes we know how far we've come in life, but not really. Re-reading Lacie's story made my own a lot more solid to me.

If you've ever struggled with yourself, family, friends, the world, you'll easily relate to Lacie's troubles with life, and will likely appreciate her story.