Leaving Paradise
by Simone Elkeles
by Simone Elkeles
LEAVING PARADISE by Simone Elkeles
Category: Contemporary
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 4/1/07
Publisher: Flux
Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen
Rating: 5 Stars
Two very different people are joined together by the most common yet dreadful experience. Both live in the town of
Paradise, but for them it is nothing like the name.
Caleb Becker had spent time in juvenile detention for the crime of driving while intoxicated and accidentally hitting
someone with his car. And now that he has done his time, Caleb is able to go home to his family and his girlfriend, if they
are still together. But for Caleb, returning to Paradise isn’t so easy. His mother is trying to act like nothing has happened,
his sister hardly talks to anyone and has went from prep to goth, and his dad is just there.
Maggie Armstrong was that innocent person that Caleb hit, and she's been living in her own prison, the hospital. Trying to
get back her life, Maggie has been trying her best to walk right again. But during those times, the people who Maggie
thought were her friends began to grow apart from her. It’s bad enough that her mother is trying to make ends meet and
trying to make Maggie happy, but since Paradise isn’t such a big town, there’s a greater chance of Maggie running into
Caleb.
For Caleb, it’s much easier for him to gain his life back, since he was always the popular one -- but for Maggie, she’s
closer to the outside. But the one thing they both truly needed wasn’t their old friends or their old lives, but each other.
That one incident, that one thing that affected both of them, each in a different way, has caused a strong connection
between them that they would never be able to ignore.
LEAVING PARADISE was honestly an amazing story, and was wonderfully written to where whoever reads it will not
be able to get the story out of their head. Simone Elkeles, author of the highly acclaimed HOW TO RUIN A SUMMER
VACATION, has switched gears and made an issue that is so common her own and very unique. The relationship
between Caleb and Maggie was so real and extremely heartwarming, and the ways that they struggled to continue their
lives, both individually and together, makes you wonder if you are able to be as strong as they are.
This is another wonderful novel from Simone Elkeles, and I cannot wait to read her future publications.
Category: Contemporary
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 4/1/07
Publisher: Flux
Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen
Rating: 5 Stars
Two very different people are joined together by the most common yet dreadful experience. Both live in the town of
Paradise, but for them it is nothing like the name.
Caleb Becker had spent time in juvenile detention for the crime of driving while intoxicated and accidentally hitting
someone with his car. And now that he has done his time, Caleb is able to go home to his family and his girlfriend, if they
are still together. But for Caleb, returning to Paradise isn’t so easy. His mother is trying to act like nothing has happened,
his sister hardly talks to anyone and has went from prep to goth, and his dad is just there.
Maggie Armstrong was that innocent person that Caleb hit, and she's been living in her own prison, the hospital. Trying to
get back her life, Maggie has been trying her best to walk right again. But during those times, the people who Maggie
thought were her friends began to grow apart from her. It’s bad enough that her mother is trying to make ends meet and
trying to make Maggie happy, but since Paradise isn’t such a big town, there’s a greater chance of Maggie running into
Caleb.
For Caleb, it’s much easier for him to gain his life back, since he was always the popular one -- but for Maggie, she’s
closer to the outside. But the one thing they both truly needed wasn’t their old friends or their old lives, but each other.
That one incident, that one thing that affected both of them, each in a different way, has caused a strong connection
between them that they would never be able to ignore.
LEAVING PARADISE was honestly an amazing story, and was wonderfully written to where whoever reads it will not
be able to get the story out of their head. Simone Elkeles, author of the highly acclaimed HOW TO RUIN A SUMMER
VACATION, has switched gears and made an issue that is so common her own and very unique. The relationship
between Caleb and Maggie was so real and extremely heartwarming, and the ways that they struggled to continue their
lives, both individually and together, makes you wonder if you are able to be as strong as they are.
This is another wonderful novel from Simone Elkeles, and I cannot wait to read her future publications.