Review: Far From You by Lisa Schroeder

Book Description via Goodreads:

Lost and alone...down the rabbit hole

Years have passed since Alice lost her mother to cancer, but time hasn't quite healed the wound. Alice copes the best she can, by writing her music, losing herself in the love of her boyfriend, and distancing herself from her father and his new wife.

But when a deadly snowstorm traps Alice with her stepmother and newborn half-sister, she'll face issues she's been avoiding for too long. As Alice looks to the heavens for guidance, she discovers something wonderful.

Perhaps she's not so alone after all...

Source: Personal Copy

My Thoughts:

Schroeder wrote Far From You with keen attention to words. Every chapter is told with the minimum amount of words and yet they were enough to convey what was happening. From the first page to the last, I was taken down the rabbit hole. The words seemed to seep into my skin and stretch across my heart. The word choice was amazing. Schroeder put the right words to make your heart ache, make you live the experience of Alice and make you feel the change happening in her life.

Set in fall and winter, the story is scraped off of sugar and we are shown the raw and painful emotions of Alice. But more than that, it is also about life, our gains and losses with every stage. Alice lost her mother to cancer and her dad to his new wife. She feels alone – sad and unwanted except when she is with Blaze. Claire, the only best friend she has, veered into another direction, one without her music. But a bigger change happens to Alice in a snowstorm. She discovers that there is so much more she hasn’t seen yet, so much more things to be thankful for and to treasure.

The relationship of Alice with her family was scrutinized from the smallest gesture to the biggest decision and how these affected her. Her unbroken connection with her deceased mother was evident throughout the story, making the things her mother left priceless and even private. But is her mother really gone? The change in the perspective of Alice was a perfect proof of her growth as a character. I would classify it as the before and after perspectives, before and after the snowstorm. From seeing that everyone did not want her, did not care for her, she began to see them in a positive light. I wanted to read more of Claire and Blaze though, to find out more of her life outside the house.

This was a quick read. I finished it and I needed a moment to think of what happened in the novel. It is something that you feel, yes. But it takes some time to internalize afterwards since there were few words with which the story was told, few words to make the reader be accustomed to the story. I love the song lyrics included. They give a personal feel to the story. After reading this, I'm sure I'll want to read the rest of Schroeder's books.

Far From You is painted will all the emotions of life. Emotional and heartbreakingly beautiful, this novel will get to you from the first word to the last. It lingers there in your head and heart ever after you’ve turned the last page.

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