I did not like Edna at first. Not one bit. She was rude, she was selfish, she made me want to literally shake her so hard her brain rewired itself. There’s a keyword there: was. She was rude, she was selfish. Was. Edna’s also a teenager. Now, I know that’s no excuse and if I gave that to my own mama after acting like Edna, that’d probably earn me a big ol slap upside the head. So, not an excuse, but hear me out. She’s rebellious and bit of a know it all, she seems to have that “me against the world” way about her. There are times though, even in those early moments, that you see her as what she is. A vulnerable thirteen year old girl responding to the world in the only way she knows how–by acting out.

Edna’s life takes a drastic turn when her parents are fed up with her latest stunt and load her up in the car on the premise of a nice little day trip which turns into them dropping her off at her grandparents in the middle of the desert. No cell service, no wifi, heck there’s not even modern amenities!

At first, Edna is absolutely horrified. Needless to say, this is not how she planned to spend her time away from school. Her grandfather basically spends most all his time sitting on the front porch staring off into the distance, but there is a lot more to him than that. I really love how bits and pieces of him unfolded. Then there was Edna’s grandmother, Mary. I’m not sure Mary knew quite what to do with a young girl, but that sort of made me like her even more. The thing that really made Edna start to change, though, was 17 year old Johnny.

I just wasn’t a super big fan of Johnny, but  I do like how he made Edna want to be a better person. Whether Edna really becomes a better person or not, well you’ll just have to read for yourself. I will say that I highly recommend this book for teens. It’s a great little tale about growing up and learning how to be a better you. That may sound cheesy, but that’s the best way I can explain it. Either way I really enjoyed this book and I hope you will too!