Review: "What She Left Us" by Stephanie Elliot

Sisters Jenna and Courtney are reeling from the sudden death of their mother. Jenna copes by distancing herself from the man that she once loved and Courtney chooses to return to normality by returning to College and continuing as the resident advisor for a group of young students. Six months later the girls learn that they may have the disease that took their mother's life and their lives begin turning upside down.

Jenna decides to pack up and move to college to be with Courtney. Courtney loves her sister but isn't sure that her timing is the best. Jenna is emotionally unstable and unsure what she wants from life and Courtney has just met and is falling for fellow student Mitch.

As the girls navigate the twists and turns of their lives they explore the meaning of the word "family" and they may find out that they are both stronger than they once thought.

What She Left Us was thought-provoking and heartwarming. The plot was fresh and interesting and the writing skilled. Although I didn't find myself relating to either character on a personal level that turned out to be okay. The characters themselves were well-developed and I got a good sense of who they were as people and I found that to be enough for me. Although I was able to predict the plot twists I still appreciated them when they happened.

The only thing that bothered me about the book was how the author chose to write the flashback scenes. Although I felt that they had purpose I didn't like the fact that they were written from a child's point of view. I would have preferred if they were instead written from the point of view of the  character remembering things from their childhood.

What She Left Us is an enjoyable debut novel from the author who brought us the novella The Cell Phone Lot. I look forward to reading her future releases and I thank the author for providing me with a review copy. You can find Stephanie Elliot on Facebook and on her blog.