Valerie's Review of Liz's 'Josie'

Josie is the story of a family of four; mother Jayme, father Kyle, and two kids Josie and Cayden. They seem to live a normal life until everything is shattered by a tragic car accident which results in the death of Josie.

Josie brought me into the normal everyday life of Jayme, I love the way the dialogue and actions in the beginning really demonstrate the loving relationships between the family members. I smiled and laughed, at how Josie and Cayden behaved, anyone who knows kids of that age could surely relate. The writing in the beginning of the story is very strong, and gives a great sense of this family and their life. However, starting right before the car accident, there are several changes in perspective which make it very confusing, and harder to identify with Jayme. I think if the story was changed to remain in Jayme's perspective the entire time, and perhaps including more of her actions (maybe dropping the phone on impact perhaps) would really help me to feel for Jayme. I felt a lot for the loss of Josie, since her presentation was consistent through the whole story, but in order to feel for Jayme, she should be the main focus all the time.