The Space Between Trees

The Space Between Trees
Author: Katie Williams
Series: ---
Publisher: Chronicle Books
How Received: publisher

This story was supposed to be about Evie how she hasn't made a friend in years, how she tends to stretch the truth (especially about her so-called relationship with college drop-out Jonah Luks), and how she finally comes into her own once she learns to just be herself but it isn't. Because when her classmate Elizabeth "Zabet" McCabe's murdered body is found in the woods, everything changes and Evie's life is never the same again

I really went into this not sure of what to expect. I thought it was going to be predictable - Jonah was mentioned, so I thought he'd play a bigger part than he did, and Hadley isn't mentioned in the summary at all. But then again, I prefer this vaguer summary to one that gives away the entire book - I hate when that happens.

The one word I can use to describe The Space Between Trees is interesting. It's unlike anything I've read so far, and it made me sit and think. I put it down quite a lot, not willing to read any farther. It's a digestion novel - slow and steady.

The build up to the end takes a very long time. If I had to divide the book into threes, I would say the first two thirds of it is a build up, and the last third of it is a really quick wrap up. The book seems less about the plot and more about Evie developing as a character which, I can say, I didn't mind. I liked being in Evie's head and watching her develop.

As for her choices? I disliked Hadley and didn't understand her choice in Jonah. I didn't connect to any character besides Evie, either, and even then my connection with Evie was only at moments. I may have liked watching her develop, but it didn't mean I was connected to her.

All in all, it wasn't a bad story. Just a long one with a quick ending, and one that makes you think.

Final Comments: Pick up if you want a book that may make you think.