Erin's Book #25: The Bright Forever by Lee Martin

A library near me has a terrific sale twice a year in which new books sell for $1 - $2. I knew nothing about this book, but the cover attracted me and I figured for $1, I didn't have much to lose. I read the entire thing in half a day of traveling, but that was more a testament to how easy a read it is than how good it is.

Reminiscent of The Lovely Bones in both cover art and subject matter, Bright Forever is about the disappearance of a 7-year-old girl. Each chapter is written by a different character involved and slowly the pieces begin to come together. The technique works and is an interesting way to paint the whole picture, but my problem with it is it just seems sort of pointless. I enjoyed reading it, but it's just a really devastating story. I'm not sure what the value of such a story is. It doesn't really have a message or a moral. It's just a creative way of writing about something really horrible that happened.