Journal Entry 1 by Xeyra from Seixal, Setúbal Portugal on Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Alice and Boone Fendar hope for a new man to drag their mother from her depression after their father abandons them. Unfortunately, their prayers are answered in the form of Simon Jester, an abusive man with a hair-trigger temper, a fondness for poison, and secrets in his past. The two deal with Simon in their own ways--Alice with small acts of rebellion, Boone with his insistence that all people are God's creatures. Enter Persely Snow, famous teenage murderess and pen pal of Boone, who is perpetually escaping from juvenile detention centers. When Persely shows up for an unexpected visit, things rapidly spiral out of control. The adults in the story are reduced to stereotypes--the ineffectual mother, the wicked stepfather--but the strength of Hepinstall's second novel lies in the quirky characterizations of Alice, Boone, and Persely and the various bizarre details that are unexpected touches in a novel about abuse and fear. A compelling, tense read from first page to last.