There wasn't anything truly complicated about this story -- no big "WOW" moment -- and no great surprise ending and yet it spoke to me. The author's writing style had such a smooth, fluid air to it with the sprinkling of a poetic blanket surrounding it. It was life in its purest form.

This story involves one girl, three time periods and the effects of choices made in each. The first time period is Jessica at age 16. It was like watching a flower unfold in slow motion. The young budding girl blossoms and finds life opening up to her. The aroma of passion and awareness is so strong that it can only be likened to those first few drops of coffee that falls from the percolator. Jessica's level of maturity and ability to think as an adult was a bit overplayed, but yet I loved the simplicity of this section.

Fast forward about 6 years and Jessica is seen watching her life unfold before her. She is given a chance to see her dreams come to fruition. She is much aware that choices from her past and relationships in her past have been pivotal in obtaining the life she envisioned. Unfortunately, there can be a downside to everything. And sometimes when you are moving forward, you find you have to leave the past behind. Sometimes it is impossible to grab the prize in front of you when you are still tethered to the past.

Fast forward another 6 years and you have Section 3 of this story. Jessica finds herself forced to face the repercussions of choices made in her youth. She is confronted with the reality of her feelings and her inability to forgive others and even herself. But some mistakes and feelings can never be buried forever. And unfortunately, sometimes when the past surfaces, someone is bound to get hurt. But how do you choose who you hurt and who you protect?

I found the characters well developed and felt the flow of the story to be steady and strong. In the end it delved into some controversial medical, moral and ethical issues and I thought the author's handling of it was spot on.