Point of Departure by Diane Kowal Kirtley

The title may sound like a thriller, but this is actually a novel based on the life of Charlotte Mailliard. And well, this is another book tour stop!

*cheers*

Point of Departure follows Charlotte Mailliard as she moves from a priviledged life in France (her God-mother is the queen!) to America. There's no over-arching conflict, rather it follows Charlotte as she grows up, falls in love, deals with racism and xenophobia and other issues.

Despite sounding like some kind of boring fictional biography (this really is based on her life, so it's partly true), it's actually very engrossing. I literally couldn't put it down, and no, this is not hyperbole. I had people come to install my washing machine the day I started reading the book, and I was just reading while the people did their work. I just stopped to let them in and sign the form saying that I received my product in working order.

My favourite character was, obviously, Charlotte. She's not particularly flirtatious like her older sisters, or a tomboy like her younger sister, but she is a bookworm, and she does stand up for causes she believes in. She makes me want to learn French because she is that cool a role model.

What I would have liked to see more would be her relationship with her younger sister Amanda. There was tension between them (mostly because of the hostility on Amanda's part). Unfortunately, this issue isn't never resolved satisfactorily.

This is an awesome book. I love it so so much. The characters are awesome, the book flows well, and the length feels just right. I highly reccomend this book.

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book as part of the VirtualBookworm blog tour in exchange for a free and honest review.