Marin stays over during winter term break, all alone in her dorm. In truth, she has no other place to go (no family to visit, and she hasn't exactly reached out and made friends during her first semester). In a few days, an old friend Mabel will visit, but for the first days she has only herself and her memories. Mabel's visit both excites her and terrifies her. For the past few months, Marin has successfully blocked out her past and the pain she still feels from it (and alongside that ignored every text and voice mail that Mabel has sent her). Mabel's arrival will change that and force Marin to deal with what she can't bring herself to address -- the loss of her family and the betrayal that it exposed.
A bittersweet story about loss and family, and (of course) rebirth and potential renewal. It's very melancholy and downtrodden -- definitely, not a cheery read! But if you enjoy a mood piece, quieter than a deserted snow-covered campus at Christmastime, then this is probably for you. Marin is self-absorbed and one tires of her navel gazing, but it is appropriate for the story. And the writing is gorgeous, as one would expect for the genre.
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