The Sweetheart of Prosper County by Jill S. Alexander

Finally! I must admit, I wanted something not so great to happen to those step-sisters. While Willa is away.all hell breaks loose back home. We also learn more about her mother, what she left behind, and the impact it had on her parents when she fled with Willa all those years ago. We really start to learn about who Willa really is and what is important to her when she is away from her mother and step-father. Willa heads to Texas and lo and behold, more skeletons (and a crotchety grandmother and older half brother). This is where it gets good and those little skeletons just start tumbling out of the closet! This turns the house upside-down and everyone starts to question everything and their role in the family. She finally makes her own choices based on what she thinks is best. When his rampage is over, Willa makes a decision to go back to Texas and starts to be an active participant in her own life. The climatic hunt for her father ends early on in the book and very soon - too soon for me. I thought Willa and her family were going to go on the run and into hiding, but that didn't happen. Things start to get interesting when we learn that Willa's lunatic father has gone on a murdering spree, killing his second family. Instead, for awhile anyway, we watch her placate everyone and become a wallflower.

I wanted her to want something, to stand up for herself. Unfortunately, Willa always gives(up) and is content to sit on the sidelines and take sloppy seconds from her stepsisters. This book is all about family dynamics - the give and take that everyone has to go through to make a family work - happy. The book doesn't focus on the act, and Willa tries to control the urges often. Willa sees cutting as a relief, something she can control. It isn't very gruesome and details are short. It is introduced early on and I really didn't see it coming. The cutting issue with Willa came as a big surprise to me.

The Sweetheart of Prosper County by Jill S. Alexander