Leftovers

In most cases, when a father dies, their daughter would be distraught, but in Sarah Greene's case relief floods over her. With his death, it means that there will be no more chances for her father to abuse her and take pictures. Along with the relief, though, comes a nagging feeling due to a still-hidden shoebox in her father's old restaurant filled with questionable photos that she is determined to destroy. When her desperation to find the box hits an all-time high, she takes her mother's car and crashes it - landing her in a whole heap of trouble with the law. Her punishment: doing summer-long community service at Camp Dog Gone, where shelter dogs go for a vacation. While at "camp," Sarah befriends a big romping dog named Judy - who is just as troubled as Sarah - another troubled soul, Sullivan, and several other people who help her turn her life around slowly but surely. As she comes to realize what is important in her life, she breaks out of her shell that the past created and starts to heal, looking towards a brighter future. This book is unlike any that I have read before. It takes a dark subject - sexual abuse - and turns it into a journey of healing. Using a fun background, the author explores the hurt that accompanies abuse and how other people (or animals, in this case) help to heal. The plot turned out to be really cute and I loved the setting with all of the dogs running around. The characters were also quite interesting. Sarah was so guarded that at times it was hard to see who she really was, but as the end of the book approached it was neat to see her personality really unfold. I also really like Sullivan. He seemed like such a happy-go-lucky kind of guy until you found out about his secrets, which made him very realistic. Another aspect that really stood out to me was the characterization of the dogs. Each had their own unique personality that made the reader feel as if they were curled up at their own feet. LEFTOVERS really has it all - humor, reality, family drama, and a little bit of romance to satisfy all reader's interests. It was a great book that I really enjoyed and urge you all to go out and pick up a copy for yourself. Reviewed by: Tasha

I know that summary is somewhat lacking in detail but it was the only one I could find. I will attempt to describe more of the plot in my review then I usually do. 15 year old Sarah is a survivor of sexual abuse. One day when he stepfather tries taking a picture of her she goes ballistic and winds up totally her mother's car. As part of her punishment, Sarah is forced to spend her summer doing community service at Camp Dog Gone Fun. The camp is a place that dogs with behavioral problems go to be rehabilitated. Leftovers was a very emotionally charged book. I went through a roller coaster of emotions when reading Leftovers. The sexual abuse the Sarah experiences throughout her childhood is never described in great detail, but you can still feel her pain. The reasons for Sarah's picture taking phobia are revealed slowly throughout the book. Sarah's father took sexual photographs of her throughout her childhood and she never told anyone even after he died. I thought that Heather did an excellent job portraying the emotions that a sexual abuse victim experiences. I found Sarah to be a very believable and sympathetic character. I found myself routing for Sarah throughout the story. I really cared about what was happening to Sarah and wanted everything to work out for her. My favorite thing about Leftovers was reading about how being at the camp changed Sarah. It is no secret that I am a fan of animals. Animals can be very therapeutic for some people. In Leftovers, Sarah becomes attached to one dog in particular. I just thought that was really sweet. I am such a sucker for stories about animals and seeing how they improve lives. I really found myself tearing up at these moments. There were really no sour parts for me in Leftovers. I was also extremely touched by some of the human relationships that Sarah develops at the camp. While animals are great, you sometimes need the help of other people. Sarah really blossoms and grows while doing her community service. I particularly enjoyed reading about Sarah's potential love interest. It was interesting to see how being sexually abused had an impact on her sexual development. Thankfully, this is not something that I ever had to experience! Leftovers was a really touching story about a girl overcoming sexual abuse. I would recommend it to anyone interested in this topic.