Marshmallows for Breakfast by Dorothy Koomson

Queenie D's rating: 3.5 stars (see Book Rating for explanation)

This book caused quite a stir at our last meeting. I originally gave it a 4, but after much chatter I realized that it didn't actually rank quite that high for me.

The plot is interesting - a young woman flees from Australia to England with a broken heart and a tragic past. She meets a set of twins living with their incredibly devastated father, as his wife (their mother) has left them and gone to America.

Kendie, as she is termed by the twins, falls into the place of "second mother" quietly and efficiently in just a few short weeks. Her inability to have children of her own and the fragility she sees in both Summer and Jaxson, help this transformation along easily.

Many characters come and go through this story as Kendie comes to terms with her past and her adopted family, dad included, learn to move forward together as a new family unit.

Sounds good right? It is, in many ways. Where it falls short is that Kendie, the main character and the one we should care about most, is terribly annoying. Often times she is such an extreme martyr that it's hard to even like her. Sometimes that is the author's intent but I'm not sure in this case. Koomson is a great writer so it had nothing to do with quality or style. Her character simply was unlikable.

On the other hand, her ability to write about a divorce from the viewpoint of a child is amazing.