content: A majority of the important action is related in flashback style or one character telling another what happened. Rather annoying. Olivia is so caught up in her own troubles, she basically is ignorant of what's going on in her childrens' lives, which turns me against her character. Amos is just there. He doesn't play much of a part in the book. This is Maya's story, and she's not much of a heroine to root for. Plot twists were obvious and seen coming a mile away. I'll give credit, though, to Ryman having the guts to kill a major character.