Far From You

Alice has felt as if she's been spiraling down the rabbit hole ever since her mother passed away. It's been a few years since her mother's death and she is still suffering from her loss. To make matters worse, her father hasn't been there for her in her time of need. She has had to grieve all on her own, since he has re-married and is a expecting a new baby any minute now.

Alice finds comfort in her boyfriend Blaze, her faith, her guitar, music and her BFF, Claire. But things are about to change, for Claire is fed up with Alice's "depressing" music and a fight between the girls quickly ensues. Then things take a drastic turn when Alice gets caught on the road in a snowstorm with her newborn half-sister Ivy, and her "wicked" stepmother, show more Vic. It is now up to Alice to deal with the issues that she has long avoided, especially if she wants to get out of this predicament alive.

My first impression of Alice was that she was selfish, ignorant and mean. I got the impression right from the start that she never gave her stepmother a chance - she was too involved in her grief, her boyfriend, her music, etc. But that's what I really like about Lisa's writing. She creates characters that are real, that you can relate to. I loved taking this journey with Alice.

Considering this is such a short book, you quickly become attached to some of these characters. They all bring their own unique quality to the story. You can't help but find yourself biting your nails towards the second half of the book and reading on with tears in your eyes as you see our Alice grow and understand and eventually forgive and heal.

Far from You is written in verse, and only the second book that I've read in this style, but once again I am in awe by how much feeling and emotion can be contained in so little writing. If you have any doubts about reading one of Lisa's books please put them aside and read just one of her books - I guarantee if you're anything like me, you'll want to read them all! show less

Reviewed by Cat for TeensReadToo.com

Alice's mother died of cancer years ago. Everyone else has moved on. Her father has remarried and is expecting a new baby, but Alice continues to mourn, finding solace in songwriting, attending services, and performing at her mother's old church with best friend/musical soul mate, Claire. And with spending time with her boyfriend, Blaze.

Nothing can shake Alice from her grief - from the birth of a baby sister, Ivy; to the progression of her relationship with Blaze; to her ups and downs with Claire.

It is only when she, Victoria, and Ivy are caught on the road during a freak snow storm that Alice begins to regain her balance and consider the possibility that her mother is closer than she ever show more imagined.

Author Lisa Schroeder's decision to tell this story entirely in verse is deceptively simple, but the effectiveness of this type of narration quickly becomes clear - cutting through the excess of more straightforward prose to the raw center of Alice's emotional turmoil.

Despite the story being told from a single character's perspective, Ms. Schroeder still manages to drop subtle hints (i.e., her father's pained silence, Blaze's easy interaction with the stepmother his girlfriend has written off, their efforts to remind Alice that they're a family) that let readers know Alice's perspective might be somewhat biased.

It's rare to find a book that moves me to tears, but FAR FROM YOU touched my heart, making it an emotional journey worth taking. show less

Far From You is the story of a teen girl girl who lost her mother to cancer years ago. Just recently, though, her father is now remarried and his new wife is pregnant. It's all too soon for Alice.

Sometimes, Alice can be a tough character to feel close to. She is distant from her family, and doesn't want anything to do with her stepmother or the new baby. She does want to re-establish a relationship with her father, but seems to shut down whenever he's around. Of course, this makes her character all the more believable. And, I wanted to see her through to a less angry place. I had faith that she'd get there. But, I didn't know how.

On the way home after a Thanksgiving road trip, Alice, her stepmother, and the newborn baby find themselves show more stranded in a snowstorm. It is here, in the close quarters of the SUV that Alice's anger and frustration and sheer loss comes to a head. She and her stepmother, Victoria, have the inevitable fight but then move to a place of understanding. And, Alice gets to see Victoria, her new sister, and her mother in a whole new way. Once this trip is finished, Alice will never be the same.

I read this book in the space of a couple hours. It was riveting and so very quick. The verse format makes it possible to absolutely devour this book, but still feel connected to the characters. I was truly pulling for Alice by the end of the book. Which is not how I felt after I first met her. show less

3.5 stars

Lisa Schroeder is becoming an author I admire. She has a wonderful writing style and create a range of emotions using limited words. Her books draw me in and take me on enchanted, touching journeys.

In "Far From You", Alice is struggling with the death of her mother and the fact that she has a new step-mother and baby stepsister. I didn't really like Alice at the start despite her feelings of loneliness and despair. People who loved her tried to reach out but she continually pushed them away. However, after a near tragedy, she did learn to love and heal, and the final song she wrote was extremely moving.

Reading "Far From You" was like reading a different poem with each chapter. Each one was short, lyrical and powerful. Although show more a quick read, I thoroughly enjoyed following Alice's journey of acceptance, healing and the importance of family. I absolutely adored the focus on a mother's all-embracing love. show less

Alice’s voice is beautifully honest, for all the good and the bad that her honesty brings with it. For the first half of the book I could feel Alice’s anger, grief, and confusion as she interacted with the people around her: her father, her stepmom, her half-sister, her best friend, and her boyfriend. It’s only when she remembered her mom that it seemed like a weight lifted from her shoulders, but it was only momentary relief. Once the story got to the point where she was trapped in the snowstorm, it was as if I could feel all her anger and grief transform into determination to survive.
In reading this book, I was amazed by Lisa Schroeder’s writing. She is able to tell an incredible story with so few words, displaying just how show more powerful – and beautiful – words can be. Her ability to paint a picture and show emotion with the simplest of words astounds me when I consider that oftentimes authors spend a page describing something and I still can’t grasp it. It is this brevity that is also so deep that makes me want to consume her books in a single sitting.
While I think the characters themselves were well fleshed-out, I had a difficult time with the story because I was never really sure how well I liked them. For the most part I liked Alice, though I cringed at how she treated her stepmom Victoria, and especially newborn Ivy, because I could see how Victoria was trying to make an effort with her most of the time. Claire, Alice’s best friend, annoyed me because of how she decided for Alice that they shouldn’t lead music at church anymore because she was taking too long to get over her mom’s death. It didn’t make sense when she appeared to be such a great friend before that conversation, and then suddenly she was avoiding Alice. Then there was Blaze, who I just couldn’t really get a handle on. He seemed like an okay guy, but their relationship was lacking something to me. Maybe it was the way he criticized her about going to church, or the fact that he doesn’t talk to her about where he sees himself in the future, but the whole time I was reading the book I was halfway expecting there to be a moment where she figures out he’s not the person she thought. I do believe they loved each other, I think that was shown really well, but I guess I wasn’t sure that they should. I think if I hadn’t had issues with her friends, I would have enjoyed the story more. show less

Alice feels lost ever since her mother died of cancer years before. The only solace she finds is in her boyfriend Blaze and in the music she writes and plays with her best friend Claire at church. Her father has remarried and they no longer cook and make up jingles together and her step mother is expecting a baby girl. Alice is not excited about her new half-sister. Then her life goes from bad to worse; Claire tells her that the church thinks Alice’s songs are too sad and they don’t want them to play and sing anymore. She and Claire stop talking and hanging out and Alice feels even more alone; thank God for Blaze but she even has some confusion about him. Then after her new sister is born, her dad tells her they are driving to show more California from their Seattle home to visit Victoria’s parents for Thanksgiving. Her dad is called away on business Thanksgiving night and Victoria, Alice, and Ivy make the return trip to Seattle. They wind up caught in a blizzard and Victoria’s and Alice’s icy relationship begins to thaw even as the temperature drops. When Victoria goes for help, Alice focuses on keeping Ivy alive and learns things about herself and her dead mother in the process. The story is told in poems that have an authentic teenage voice. show less

Enchanting read. This book is written in verse. This is the second book I've read by Lisa Shroeder, I loved the first and I loved this one. Her style of writing is beautiful. If you've never read a book in verse, it might be a little hard at first but trust me you get used to it. And its really magical to read a book like this.

The story is about this girl named Alice whose mother dies of cancer and her dad remarries. Alice is still grief stricken by the death of her mother so she hates her new stepmother and the baby that's on the way. On a thanksgiving trip to her stepmothers parents, they get stranded in a snow storm. This gives Alice the time to figure out herself and the feelings towards her new stepmother and baby sister. And to show more learn to appreciate the little gifts in life.

This is a wonderful book about grief and the road to recovery. About love and friendship. And about the meaning of life. show less