Shattered: A Daughter's Regret by Melody Carlson ~ review

From the Back Cover:


Everybody does it—sneaks out of the house now and then. It's harmless enough, right? Not this time. Cleo Neilson faces the chilling consequences of her actions. Now she has a secret and can’t tell anyone, and it’s breaking her heart. As Cleo fights through her grief and guilt, she learns about faith in God and forgiveness through him. As teenage girls read Cleo's journey, they too will learn the value of having faith and receiving forgiveness as well as just how dangerous it really is to keep a secret.


My take on this book:
Cleo Neilson is almost eighteen, a senior in high school and wants to go to a christian concert with her best friend Nola who is moving away. Nola won the concert tickets and since the concert is being held on the last night before Nola's family moves away Cleo thinks it would be the perfect way for them to spend her last night. The problem is Cleo's mom, Karen doesn't like the idea of the girls going into the city alone. Karen offers to cancel her plans and take the girls, but instead Cleo tells her mom they just wont go instead they will stay the night at Nola's house, but the plans really are to sneak out and ride the bus into the city. Cleo forgets to charge her cell phone, but is certain that nothing will go wrong and besides Nola has her phone. They make it to the concert and back to Cleo's house, and while Cleo thinks she has gotten away with it she intends to confess to her mother the next morning, but the next morning her mother is nowhere to be found, and when two police officers show up at her doorstep she can't imagine what they are telling her. Will Cleo ever stop blaming herself for what happened?

Cleo seemed like a self centered girl who took her mother for granted, and while I though that Karen was really overprotective, but when her sister Kellie gives us Karen's back story it was easy to see where she was coming from. I could easily understand how Cleo might blame herself for what happened to her mother, especially after the cell phone messages her mother left her, and turning to pills to numb the pain seemed like a very realistic move for Cleo to make.The guilt and blame that Cleo carried around was portrayed clearly. While Cleo really didn't want her aunt Kellie around, by the end of the story its aunt Kellie who really helps her see the light.
While this book is geared towards teens, I would easily recommend it to anyone. It is one of those stories that will have you thinking about how quickly life can change.

A complimentary copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review.