First 1/3 would get 5 stars. It was a lot like The Corrections. Then the story shifted from character to plot, and the author stopped developing important characters (example: "Chad"). Ultimately disappointing. ( )

If you are anything like me you won't be able to decide whether you love or hate or just feel sorry for Henry Porter. On the surface he is a selfish, superficial s.o.b. who never knows the right thing to say or do. He doesn't know how to greet Nicole, his only child he hasn't seen in six years. He has a strained relationship with his girlfriend and doesn't know how to respond when she tells him she is pregnant with his child. He comes across as shallow and callous. Case in point: "I calculated that if she really wanted to get my understanding, she would ask for it" he says (p 32). But, having said all that, it's his very attitude that makes him human. We all have our moments of being selfish, superficial, shallow, awkward, cold and callous. Henry Porter is real and you can't help but identify with him, even if it is just a little. As Henry's life becomes more complicated (Nicole gets in trouble with a boy and Elizabeth breaks up with him) Henry starts to find his way through his inability to respond to tragedy. It's a good thing because things go from bad to the very worst and Henry must change in order to survive. ( )