Faithful by Alice Hoffman

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 272

Publisher: Simon & Schuster 

Released: 1st of November 2016

Growing up on Long Island, Shelby Richmond is an ordinary girl until one night an extraordinary tragedy changes her fate. Her best friend’s future is destroyed in an accident, while Shelby walks away with the burden of guilt.

What happens when a life is turned inside out? When love is something so distant it may as well be a star in the sky? Faithful is the story of a survivor, filled with emotion—from dark suffering to true happiness—a moving portrait of a young woman finding her way in the modern world. A fan of Chinese food, dogs, bookstores, and men she should stay away from, Shelby has to fight her way back to her own future. In New York City she finds a circle of lost and found souls—including an angel who’s been watching over her ever since that fateful icy night.

What I Have to Say

Normally I get so bored by this kind of book. And I was a little at the start, but from the point when she starts her career of dog theft, I somehow got endeared to her and started to get really invested in her journey towards forgiving herself for what happened. 

I think it was mostly the dogs, but the love of chinese food and the kindness that Shelby showed through the book both to animals and humans. It makes makes her so lovable that the reader starts to really want her to get the life she deserves. 

I would have liked it if the plot had been more action based than just a redemption tale, but I liked it a lot and it really surprised me. 

My thanks go to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review.