Since You've Been Gone by Mary Jennifer Payne

Since You've Been Gone by Mary Jennifer Payne

Goodreads Synopsis
Is it possible to outrun your past? Fifteen-year-old Edie Fraser and her mother, Sydney, have been trying to do just that for five years. Now, things have gone from bad to worse. Not only has Edie had to move to another new school she's in a different country. 
Sydney promises her that that this is their chance at a fresh start, and Edie does her best to adjust to life in London, England, despite being targeted by the school bully. But when Sydney goes out to work the night shift and doesn't come home, Edie is terrified that the past has finally caught up with them. 
Alone in a strange country, Edie is afraid to call the police for fear that she'll be sent back to her abusive father. Determined to find her mother, but with no idea where to start, she must now face the most difficult decision of her life.

Disclaimer: I won a free copy of this book through a giveaway via Melissa @ YA Bookshelf in exchange for an honest review.

This was an extremely quick read (I think total read time was under two hours). It was also really well-paced, there was a lot happening but there wasn't too much lag or down time and it kept me engaged. However, I found I wasn't that interested in the story line. 

It wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't amazing, either -- it fell somewhere in the middle (hence the 3 star rating). The plot was promising and I was really excited to see how this scrappy, always on the run young girl would fair. I thought she would at least have to sleep on the streets once or twice. But she always seemed to ... get off the hook? There was always someone there to solve her problems. Which is great like I'm glad, but I felt like it took away from what it could have been. 

The characters were well-rounded and fleshed out, but I would have liked to know a little bit more about Imogen and even Precious. I think this could have been explained if there had been one or two more chapters at the end. The ending was overall rushed to me and I felt as though it was too easily concluded for what happened. I wasn't too shocked by the ending/resolve of her mother being missing though. It seemed pretty obvious.

Overall: 3/5 stars. It was good but not great. I feel like I had a hard time connecting to the story.