Book Review: Megan's Way by Melissa Foster

To find out more about the contest go to Megan's Blog.

I am very excited to be part of my very first blog tour with Wow-Women on Writing for Melissa Foster's book Megan's Way. Today I will review Megan's Way, then next week, Melissa will do a guest post on my blog.

Book: Megan's Way by Melissa Foster, Outskirts Press, 2009, 304 pages.
Source: I received a copy of the book from the author in return for a fair review.

Summary (courtesy of Goodreads):

What would you give up for the people you love?

When Megan Taylor, a single mother and artist, receives the shocking news that her cancer has returned, she'll be faced with the most difficult decision she's ever had to make. She'll endure an emotional journey, questioning her own moral and ethical values, and the decisions she'd made long ago. The love she has for her daughter, Olivia, and her closest friends, will be stretched and frayed.

Meanwhile, fourteen-year-old Olivia's world is falling apart right before her eyes, and there's nothing she can do about it. She finds herself acting in ways she cannot even begin to understand. When her internal struggles turn to dangerous behavior, her life will hang in the balance.

Megan's closest friends are caught in a tangled web of deceit. Each must figure out how, and if, they can expose their secrets, or forever be haunted by their pasts.


My Thoughts: 

Megan's Way is an interesting and different book about choices and secrets.  It is an emotional, thoughtful story focusing people, examining them and watching them interact rather than thrusting them into an action filled plot (this is not to say that there is no action, but it seems to me that exploring the characters is the point).  Each of the characters in the novel are forced to look within themselves and examine past decisions, their morals and values, and come to terms with themselves, something that is not always comfortable for them.

I found that the beginning of the book pulled me in and the rich description and evocative, sensitive writing kept me reading. The friendships described were beautiful and the paranormal connection between Megan and Olivia was wonderful.  There is also an interesting dichotomy in the book, a group of friends who are so close that they feel that they know nearly everything about each other, yet they each have secrets that could tear the other's worlds apart.

I did find there were some point of view issues as a large part of the book is from Megan's view, but then it switches around.  This was necessary as so much of the book examines the character's thoughts, but sometimes it was confusing.  There were also times that I found all of the secrets frustrating and just wanted the characters to get them out into the open; however, in the end, each person's decision about what to do with their secret makes sense.

Megan's Way is a lovely, touching and sad book that is sure to stay with the reader for a long time.  It would be a great one to discuss with others who have read it. 

To get a quick taste of the book, you can watch the book trailer from YouTube:

Megan's Way gained a lot of attention:  it has just won the 2011 Beach Book Award for Spirituality and has been nominated for Dan Poynter's Global eBook Awards.  Is also currently casting for the film adaptation.