Leftovers by Laura Wiess

Leftovers by Laura Wiess

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Wow, this book was disturbing but I couldn't stop reading it! Blair and Ardith are two best friends and what happens to them is shocking but believable. And how they cope and change is believable as well. Blair has a wonderful life with mom, dad, and wonderful old golden retriever, Wendy. One day, mom gets a promotion at her law firm and she becomes Cruella Deville. She is so scary, her husband has a girl on the side. Blair's mom now only cares about appearances and they move to a big, rich, powerful house. Blair begs her family to stay in their cozy house, but her mother will not relent. Both parents end up euthanizing Blair's beloved dog because she has become incontinent and the new rugs can't be spoiled in any way. Blair is devastated, but she realizes she can get her dogs ashes from the vet by impersonating her mother and using her credit card. In her new home, Blair has a shrine to Wendy of her old mattress and toys (she fished them out of the trash can where her parents threw them) and she hides in the closet when life gets too complicated with her parents. Once they move, Blair is left alone all the time. And her best friend Ardith has a hellish life. Her mother, father and brother are all alcoholics. Her mother wears Daisy Duke shorts, allows her father to fondle the teen girls who come to their drug and alcohol parties (nightly) saying they wanted it and never taking her daughter's side. Her brother is good looking but he uses and abuses girls. Her has lecherous friends too so Ardith keeps her door padlocked each night. Ardith has dreams of becoming a podiatrist and getting out of town and away from her family. It is these hellish family relations that cement Blair and Ardith's friendship. As they become teens they are hardened, cynical, forgotten and afraid of life. The only person they truly feel safe with is Officer Dave. Dave has helped the girls a few times and looks out for them because their families don't. These girls weave a mesmerizing story, I couldn't put it down, but I didn't like reading it either. Why? Because it was so sad and so believable. So get ready for a tough book about family dysfunction and the hell that it can wreak on young girls as they become teens.



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