Faithful

When Shelby is seventeen, she's involved in a one-vehicle crash that leaves her best friend in a vegetative state and she attempts to commit suicide, as she was the driver. When she is released, she feels that she must be punished. Instead of going to college, she shaves her head, lives in her parents' basement, and only makes human contact with her weed supplier, Ben. There are two different Shelbys. The before Shelby, seventeen, fun loving, popular in school, a good student and there is the after Shelby. Survivor guilt. This is her story and parts of it are not pretty.

After her move to New York with Ben, things begin to happen to Shelby. Good things, even though she doesn't want them and doesn't think she deserves them. She gets a job show more at a pet store where she ends up rescuing (stealing) some dogs, becomes friends with Maravelle, and is promoted to manager. She enrolls in college where she hopes to eventually apply to Veterinarian School.

Alice Hoffman has an understanding of people and their flaws. I cheered for Shelby, sympathized with her and was heartbroken for her at various times. I loved watching her move forward and try to forgive herself, even though she did everything she could not to. I love stories like Faithful that explore characters who are flawed and scarred and that draw me into the their lives as they find their way in life. This makes for a powerful and interesting read for me. I really enjoyed this audio book. The narration was very good and it felt like I was actually talking to Shelby as she moved through her story. I will definitely look for more from Alice Hoffman. show less

Grief and loss....like falling helplessly, hopelessly into a black hole. All the "what ifs..." and the "I should haves..." that run through one's mind, examining all ways that this mindnumbing loss could have been prevented. Having been through this type of loss four years ago when my mother passed, I easily recognized the desolation Shelby feels when her best friend is left comatose, after a black ice incident when Shelby had been driving. Reliving the incident in every moment endlessly on some type of hideous loop of self destruction and self recrimination.

And yet, this story is not the sad descent into hopelessness that one may expect. It's the powerful story of the support of family and friends, and even strangers. Working one's way show more through grief and again finding worth in your own being. Being faithful to the person you've lost and to yourself. Dealing with Grief can take years, and it never really goes away. One just gets better at dealing with it in microsteps. And one can find truths in one's own hidden depths. This is a touching story, full of hidden hope. Don't miss it. show less

"In February,when the snow comes down hard, little globes of light are left along Route 110, on the side of the road that slopes off when a driver least expects it. The lights are candles set inside paper bags, surrounded by sand, and they burn past midnight. They shouldn't last for that amount of time, but that's part of the miracle."

There's a heat wave all over Greece at the moment I'm writing this review. I don't like summer and heat, I want to live in a place of eternal winter. Also, bright sun changes my mood and character completely and in this review, you'll probably see me obsessively describing my incoherent thoughts on how easily and readily I gave my heart to this book. It is one of the rarest of cases when I couldn't stop show more myself from reading the last chapter when I reached about 80% mark. I just wanted to know. This is how deeply I feel in love with Hoffman's novel.

After a horrific car accident, Shelby's life changes dramatically. She gives up on her dreams, she punishes herself in all ways imaginable and chooses to escape to New York. Not to start anew. She cannot do that yet, because she doesn't believe she is able or even worthy of a good life. She believes she's a nobody, a nothing, a monster. She practically begs for other people to see her this way. But they don't. Because some of us have faith.

The title is extremely poignant and well-chosen. "Faithful" to whom? To what? My answer is to everything. This is the reply I got from the book. To people, to a higher power, but most of all, to ourselves. It is the amount of faith in our abilities and value we gain through the children's love, through the animals' trust. Here, Shelby starts finding her way out of the darkness the moment people start trusting her. They have faith in her and she begins to look at herself under a different light. After trust comes faith and then love follows closely.

Love lies at the centre of the novel, along with faith. Love between a mother and a daughter. Love between a couple (beautifully depicted in Shelby and James). Love between friends, between animals and humans. Love that is firmly rooted in the past or the kind of love that comes out of nowhere, sweeps you off your feet and helps you find yourself a little sooner than you'd think possible.

"As evening falls, the wet street glows as if sprinkled with diamonds...There are bats in the tower of a church overlooking a small park. There's a sprinkling of gold -trigged stars in the sky.

What is it with stories and New York? What is it about this city that makes everything so poetic and special? Why does it turn me into a romantic? I don't know...I fell in love with Hoffman's descriptions of the city. They're marvellous, especially the ones about the evening streets. You'll also find a few but extremely poetic images of the Hudson.

There are certain well-placed hints of magical realism, with the postcards of an angel and Helena's supposed healing abilities. I think they're there to remind us that sometimes magic sometimes and beauty lies within our daily routine, within difficult choices, within the past. The narration is written in the present tense which is probably my favourite technique and it fits the story perfectly. And if by now you haven't been convinced that the writing is impeccable, I don't think I can trust you...

I read that it took Hoffman ten years to write Faithful and this definitely shows in the way the story is tightly put together, in the characters that are fully developed, in the interactions that are realistic and vivid. Dogs have a very prominent role in the action and Hoffman even manages to include references to Poe's Nevermore and to Gaiman's Neverwhere. I mean, come on...This is perfection.

Shelby is one of the most beautiful, most memorable characters out of all the books I've ever read in my life. You'll support her, get frustrated by her, cheer for her to succeed, cry and laugh. You will embark on an exciting journey. Call me superficial but James was...if he doesn't make your heart melt, if you don't fall in love with him as soon as you meet him on the page, then I believe you're heartless beyond repair. (Also, if the book is ever made into a film, I want Jonathan Tucker for the role. I don't know why but I pictured him as I was reading.) Ben, on the other hand, is irritating, a crying self-absorbed infant, competing with Shelby's father for the award of the most annoying character in the novel. To be fair, he has a few redeeming qualities, but I don't want to be fair today, I want to be emotional. See what this book did to me?

None of us wants to make even the tiniest mistakes, but this is impossible. We're human beings. Even gods make mistakes and quite big ones. We're made to make mistakes and to learn in the process. Life isn't the silky cocoon our parents struggled to provide for us. Whatever few ugly experiences I've had taught me to think differently, taught me that there are people you need to discard without a second thought and people you need at all costs. In those moments, everyone need to have faith and trust in someone. In my opinion, this "someone" must be our self. And the rest will follow...

"Together they fight demons in New York City, of which there is an endless supply. Each time another one is defeated, the Misfit comes closer to forgiveness, a state of grace he never can quite reach." show less

"In February,when the snow comes down hard, little globes of light are left along Route 110, on the side of the road that slopes off when a driver least expects it. The lights are candles set inside paper bags, surrounded by sand, and they burn past midnight. They shouldn't last for that amount of time, but that's part of the miracle."

There's a heat wave all over Greece at the moment I'm writing this review. I don't like summer and heat, I want to live in a place of eternal winter. Also, bright sun changes my mood and character completely and in this review, you'll probably see me obsessively describing my incoherent thoughts on how easily and readily I gave my heart to this book. It is one of the rarest of cases when I couldn't stop show more myself from reading the last chapter when I reached about 80% mark. I just wanted to know. This is how deeply I feel in love with Hoffman's novel.

After a horrific car accident, Shelby's life changes dramatically. She gives up on her dreams, she punishes herself in all ways imaginable and chooses to escape to New York. Not to start anew. She cannot do that yet, because she doesn't believe she is able or even worthy of a good life. She believes she's a nobody, a nothing, a monster. She practically begs for other people to see her this way. But they don't. Because some of us have faith.

The title is extremely poignant and well-chosen. "Faithful" to whom? To what? My answer is to everything. This is the reply I got from the book. To people, to a higher power, but most of all, to ourselves. It is the amount of faith in our abilities and value we gain through the children's love, through the animals' trust. Here, Shelby starts finding her way out of the darkness the moment people start trusting her. They have faith in her and she begins to look at herself under a different light. After trust comes faith and then love follows closely.

Love lies at the centre of the novel, along with faith. Love between a mother and a daughter. Love between a couple (beautifully depicted in Shelby and James). Love between friends, between animals and humans. Love that is firmly rooted in the past or the kind of love that comes out of nowhere, sweeps you off your feet and helps you find yourself a little sooner than you'd think possible.

"As evening falls, the wet street glows as if sprinkled with diamonds...There are bats in the tower of a church overlooking a small park. There's a sprinkling of gold -trigged stars in the sky.

What is it with stories and New York? What is it about this city that makes everything so poetic and special? Why does it turn me into a romantic? I don't know...I fell in love with Hoffman's descriptions of the city. They're marvellous, especially the ones about the evening streets. You'll also find a few but extremely poetic images of the Hudson.

There are certain well-placed hints of magical realism, with the postcards of an angel and Helena's supposed healing abilities. I think they're there to remind us that sometimes magic sometimes and beauty lies within our daily routine, within difficult choices, within the past. The narration is written in the present tense which is probably my favourite technique and it fits the story perfectly. And if by now you haven't been convinced that the writing is impeccable, I don't think I can trust you...

I read that it took Hoffman ten years to write Faithful and this definitely shows in the way the story is tightly put together, in the characters that are fully developed, in the interactions that are realistic and vivid. Dogs have a very prominent role in the action and Hoffman even manages to include references to Poe's Nevermore and to Gaiman's Neverwhere. I mean, come on...This is perfection.

Shelby is one of the most beautiful, most memorable characters out of all the books I've ever read in my life. You'll support her, get frustrated by her, cheer for her to succeed, cry and laugh. You will embark on an exciting journey. Call me superficial but James was...if he doesn't make your heart melt, if you don't fall in love with him as soon as you meet him on the page, then I believe you're heartless beyond repair. (Also, if the book is ever made into a film, I want Jonathan Tucker for the role. I don't know why but I pictured him as I was reading.) Ben, on the other hand, is irritating, a crying self-absorbed infant, competing with Shelby's father for the award of the most annoying character in the novel. To be fair, he has a few redeeming qualities, but I don't want to be fair today, I want to be emotional. See what this book did to me?

None of us wants to make even the tiniest mistakes, but this is impossible. We're human beings. Even gods make mistakes and quite big ones. We're made to make mistakes and to learn in the process. Life isn't the silky cocoon our parents struggled to provide for us. Whatever few ugly experiences I've had taught me to think differently, taught me that there are people you need to discard without a second thought and people you need at all costs. In those moments, everyone need to have faith and trust in someone. In my opinion, this "someone" must be our self. And the rest will follow...

"Together they fight demons in New York City, of which there is an endless supply. Each time another one is defeated, the Misfit comes closer to forgiveness, a state of grace he never can quite reach." show less

I had been delaying reading this for I don't even know why any more. Because it was amazing. It's a wonderful story of learning to live again, and finding connections, and moving on and believing in yourself.

Before this book the only Hoffman I'd read was Practical Magic back in high school. I liked it well enough but didn't search out other books. Partway through this book, however, I went and bought three other books by her. Hoffman's writing is gorgeous. I have highlighted passages throughout the book that are beautifully written or profound, or both. I really look forward to exploring her other works.

This is a beautiful book. Shelby, the main character, is badly broken when we first meet her, and I loved seeing her become her own show more person throughout the course of the book. I just can't help but love a character who steals abused animals. I also enjoyed the little bits of magical realism, though they are fairly subtle except for the beginning. At the same time there was this push-pull with reality. Very very lovely. So very glad I read it. Once I started, it was very hard to stop.

Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley. show less

Faithful by Alice Hoffman is a very highly recommended, heartbreaking novel about a young woman guilty over living. Two important facts right off: I sobbed like a baby for probably the last third to a quarter of Faithful and this is one of the best books I have read this year.

Shelby Richmond physically survives the accident that left her best friend, Helene, in a vegetative state on life support, but in reality there were two victims that night. Emotionally Shelby is just as wounded and absent as her friend. She was driving the car that night and suffers from survivor's guilt and overwhelming grief. She's attempted suicide and spent three months in a psychiatric institution where she was repeatedly raped.

Now it's been two years since show more the accident. Strangers are visiting Helene's bedside, saying that she has healing power, but Shelby's life has stalled. She's living in her parent's basement, smoking pot, and doing her penance for surviving. She's shaved her head, secretly cuts, and stopped living life. Her mother, Sue Richmond, has hope Shelby can recover. So does her angel, a man who sends her hand drawn postcards giving her simple directives like "say something" or "feel something" or "want something."

When her dealer and only friend, Ben Mink, wants her to move to NYC with him as he attends grad school, she goes. This opens her up to a world where no one knows her past. She's just a bald girl working at a pet store now. She loves Chinese takeout and dogs. She makes a friend. Slowly, we see hope for Shelby's recovery.

Admittedly, Faithful starts out dark and seems hopeless, but, if you were ever a lost teen or had a child who struggled, you're going to relate to this novel. If you have ever felt unworthy of love, of life, of success, then you are going to relate to Shelby. Hoffman captures Shelby's loneliness, flaws, heartbreak, missteps, and scars, but she also, carefully, captures her maturation, the importance of emotional connections, recovery, and, ultimately, hope.

Hoffman is an extraordinary, gifted writer. Faithful flows so smoothly, so perfectly, that I scarcely knew time was passing. The characters are all struggling in some way, but they are realistic. Shelby is especially a well-developed character. Once I started it, I was invested in the characters and cared deeply. My heart was breaking for Shelby and I wanted her to find her way. I wanted her life to get better.

I loved Faithful. Hoffman created an unforgettable character in Shelby and gave her life. When I finished the novel, after wiping away yet another round of tears, I knew Faithful would be on the short list for my top ten novels of the year.

Disclosure: My advanced reading copy was courtesy of Simon & Schuster.

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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1805316108 show less

When Shelby survives a crash that leaves her best friend, Helene, in a coma, she suffers survivor’s guilt. She has a breakdown that puts her in a mental institution where she is abused. When her mother learns of the abuse, she pulls Shelby out and, for two years, she lives at her parents’ house while continuing on a path of self-harm to ‘atone’ for the fact that she was driving the car.

Eventually, she leaves to live on her own but she shuns people even at her job at a pet store. However, several things happen to force her out of her self-imposed punishment – she rescues several abused dogs; a coworker asks her to help her by babysitting, eventually offering her a family which is aware of her shortcomings and accepts her warts show more and all; she renews a relationship with a boy whom she once had a crush on; and an anonymous someone is sending her post cards periodically with encouraging messages like ‘Say something’ that seem to arrive just when she needs them the most. Healing doesn’t come over night for Shelby but, slowly but surely, Shelby learns to forgive herself.

Faithful by author Alice Hoffman is a beautifully written coming-of-age tale. It looks at some very moving and emotional issues - survivor’s guilt, sexual abuse, loneliness, redemption, the need to forgive oneself for past perceived sins and transgressions as well as the need to let others in if this is to happen - all weighty themes that could easily cross the line to melodrama and manipulative tearjerker with a lesser writer. But Hoffman is not a lesser writer - she balances very neatly on that line without ever tipping over and she makes it look easy. The characters are sympathetic while showing flaws that we can relate to and the story is compelling. Hoffman does an amazing job of showing Shelby’s growth from survivor’s guilt to survivor and makes us believe and care every step of the way. A definite high recommendation from me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review show less