Sanny

Warning: mild spoilers without tags"The shortest distance between two points is the line between you and me."I wasn't sure what to expect from this book and the first few chapters made me extremely skeptical of where this might go. But that there was a complete change and this book took me on a haunting story filled with joy in the most unexpected places. These kids could certainly teach all of us a valueable lesson because despite losing everything they had, they still find it in them to be happy and have hope.This book certainly wasn't perfect but the message was too breathtaking to give this book anything but 5 stars. When Ian tells Sophie that she is beautiful but that the beauty of her heart makes her face ten times more beautiful, she takes the compliment for what it is: the highest compliment a person can receive.Beauty, looks and appearances aren't everything in life and she finally grasps that lesson and for once Sophie doesn't feel dead inside when she receives that compliment about her beauty.As shallow as she starts out, I have to agree wirh Ian - she certainly turns into a beautiful woman and I'm not refering to her looks.I think that I was most surprised about her father at the end of the book and that little tidbit of information seemed almost random but I was glad for it nonetheless because it showed how far reaching a single action can be and how many people can be affected by it.I wish I could say that this book is purely fictional but sadly it's not and that leaves a very bitter aftertaste. I wish that our world was a better place and children were allowed to keep on rose colored glasses well into their adulthood (as I was mostly allowed to) but not every child is allowed a carefree childhood and that should give us pause and make us think how each and every one of us is able to help in stopping the cruelty that invades our world - no matter how small the step, it'd be a step in the right direction.