Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles

Synopsis:
Nothing has been the same since Caleb Becker left a party drunk, got behind the wheel, and hit Maggie Armstrong. Even after months of painful physical therapy, Maggie walks with a limp. Her social life is non-existent and a scholarship to study abroad—her chance to escape everyone and their pitying stares—has been canceled due to the ramifications of the accident. After a year in juvenile jail, Caleb’s free . . . if freedom means endless nagging from a transition coach and the prying eyes of the entire town. Coming home should feel good, but his family and ex-girlfriend seem like strangers. Caleb and Maggie are outsiders, pigeon-holed as "criminal" and "freak." Then the truth emerges about what really happened the night of the accident and, once again, everything changes. It’s a bleak and torturous journey for Caleb and Maggie, yet they end up finding comfort and strength from a surprising source: each other.

My Review:
I read this book in one day. That’s how much I liked it. In part I had the time but also I just wanted to keep going to find out what happens to Maggie and Caleb considering how their lives were so screwed up after the accident. It is a fast an easy read that will have you turning pages to find out how these two people could possibly be together who changed each other’s lives one fateful night.
I had been eager to get into this Simone Elkeles books for a while and was really excited that this book was as good as I was hoping. Elkeles has a way of writing raw emotion on a page without it getting too teenage-angsty on you. The pacing was great and I felt like the characters were very realistic in terms of their conversations and what their lives looked like. After I finished I immediately downloaded book 2, “Return to Paradise” to my Kindle so I would not have to wait for the story to continue and I know others will feel the same.