Simone Elkeles in Leaving Paradise highlights how the effects of one night of mistakes can alter everyone else’s life.
Leaving Paradise takes place in a small town with a lot of problems with which no one is ready to confront.
Protagonist Caleb Becker went to a juvenile detention center for driving drunk and hitting his next door neighbor, Maggie Armstrong. A year has passed since Caleb and Maggie have seen each other. 
I felt like Elkeles held back a lot of emotion critical in the book. When Maggie talks about her dad, she doesn’t give off the idea that she wants him back in her life like she says she does. She just wants him to pay attention to her every once in a while.
Maggie’s bravery is admirable in the book. She faces difficult situations head on like seeing Caleb after the accident and going to school despite what she hears from her “friends.” However, she stills try to flee. Maggie dreams about leaving to Spain to avoid the “pity stares.”
She also focuses so much on her scars. “I have to admit the outfit is gorgeous. But I’m not. Although the pants hide my hideous scars, no amount of money can make an outfit hide the awkward tit in my stride. ”
Caleb didn’t seem to feel guilty about hitting Maggie. He never really apologized for hitting her. He only asks her to forgive him for it.
She packed in so many common problems we see in the world today that it took away the impact it could have had on the reader. If she had focused in more on Maggie, Caleb and Leah’s guilt and denial. Denial is commonly found throughout the book. Maggie denies that she only wants to leave Spain to Leah denies Caleb’s mom denies that her family is falling apart.
Caleb’s concern for his twin sister Leah is heartwarming, but makes you wonder if the color of her hair goes beyond the roots. “Should I tell her what her dyed black hair looks like? I briefly consider it, but quickly realize her blackness goes deeper than her hair.”
Leaving Paradise is good if you are just getting into reading and don’t have too much spare time. It is a relatively short read, but makes you consider certain choices a lot.
The novel is narrated by both Maggie and Caleb. This type of narration provides insight both into Maggie and Caleb’s thoughts; however, it could be very distracting switching narrators. It does provide romance for female readers and Maggie and Caleb’s story continues in the sequel, Return to Paradise.
Score: 7/10
Angela Sexton/ Staff Writer
