Okay, enough complaints, on with the review! I was intrigued when I read this was supposed to be a modern day retelling of Frankenstein. So of course I had an idea of what direction the story would go. But I was pleasantly surprised that this story kept me guessing and didn't just lay the whole "here's the monster" and how it was created in the beginning. And there was a romance, of course. And it worked, well, I thought it did.
The main character is Emma Gentry. And Emma is really just going through the motions of living. She lost her boyfriend Daniel to a tragic accident a few months before (I think months, not quite sure on the time period on that, I need to go back and read closer). His best friend, Josh, was also there when it happened. And all Emma remembers seeing is that Josh didn't even try to help him when he was falling. And Josh is a big jerk. It seems he now thinks that Emma should be dating him. Emma is not interested though. She still is really broken up and lost without Daniel. She still wanders the cemetery that she and Daniel used to wander together. Until one day a new student walks into their school, Alex Franks. Something about Alex calls to Emma, there is an electric charge between them. And it seems to pull Alex to Emma as well. There are things about Alex that are just like Daniel. The way he can open her locker in one try, when Emma can't seem to ever get it open herself. His eyes even have the same flecks that Daniel's eyes had. And he knows things that only Daniel knew. Within 2 weeks, you have what would be called "insta-love" these days. But soon, you understand that there is something of Daniel in Alex. And Alex's father is more than just the jerky doctor who made the break in Emma's hand worse. AND, Josh, an even bigger jerk than Emma had known he was.
I like that Emma's mom and dad are pretty realistic. Her mom is overprotective and strict. And Emma's friend Bree is a good friend, and acts just like I feel a real friend would. Emma's father is always down in the basement working on some kind of wood project. The other kids at school are at first jealous and hateful to Emma because they want to get the new guy, or they've heard horrible gossip about him, or they're saying she's over Daniel too soon. We end up with a real life or death situation, and Emma must decide if it is really Alex she loves, or if it is because of his connections to Daniel.
