Ardith and Blair are secret best friends. Blair’s mother would never allow them to be friends because Ardith doesn’t come from “the right type of people” and as a lawyer seeking a judgeship she is more concerned with appearances than reality in their life. Blair comes from a home life that consists of nonstop partying, her parents even allow her brother and his friends to drink and party with them. Ardith and Blair are the only emotional support in their world of chaos and “invisibility” in their dysfunctional families. After an event occurs that deeply troubles the girls they decide to take matters into their own hands and get justice on their own terms.

There were several things that I enjoyed about Leftovers and several things that disturbed me. I liked that each chapter alternated viewpoints between Ardith and Blair and that it allowed us an inside look into what each was thinking during the development of the plot. I liked the premise of the plot, even as I found it disturbing, and thought that it was well executed. Unfortunately, I never felt a connection with the characters other than to be glad that my teen years were long behind me. At times they seemed almost adult in their thinking, wiser beyond their years, and at others they were very immature in their thought processes which was very realistic, and consistent due to Ardith and Blair’s age and home life. The problem was that they didn’t really have any spark or redeeming characteristics to make me feel anything but pity for them.

Reviewed by: Hayley