Regretting You by Colleen Hoover

Review by Mrs. O'Dell

Regretting You really contains two plots: one, the story of Morgan, a stay-at home mother, and the other, Clara, the teenage daughter.  The narration went from Morgan in one chapter, to Clara in the next.  Usually when I read novels narrated like this, I tend to enjoy one narrator better than the other, but Hoover is too good at her job for me to favor one over the other.  Both of their stories had me hooked.

Morgan and her high school sweetheart, later her husband, had their daughter Clara when they were teenagers.  Morgan stayed home with the baby while her husband went to college and began a career.  When their daughter is sixteen, there is a crazy car accident, one that leaves both her husband and her sister dead.  The circumstances of why her husband was with her sister is a mystery, and Morgan tries to solve it alone, leaving Clara in the dark.

Clara's story is that of a normal teenage girl but with the added grief of the loss of two of the most important people in her life.  She is forbidden to date the one person who may help her cope, and she begins to make mistake after mistake.  Not knowing her mother is keeping detrimental secrets from her to protect her, Clara rebels in uncharacteristic ways.

Eventually, both characters come to an understanding, but only when all the cards are on the table.  The ending is very satisfying, with a combination of acceptance, forgiveness, humor, and love.

- 5 stars!