Suzanne
Rating:
Review
Await Your Reply shows us what happens when three people take whatever steps are necessary to change their identities. It's a brilliant premise that falls a little flat in its execution. In one case, Lucy Lattimor runs away from her small town with her high school teacher George Orson shortly after graduating. She seems to have eyes for George's money as much as for the man himself, but their new life is put off while her lover endlessly takes care of some clandestine business. In another scenario, Ryan Schuyler runs away from failing his college classes and is unexpectedly declared dead, freeing him to truly remake himself in conjunction with his estranged father. In the third case, Miles Cheshire is forever chasing after his twin brother Hayden, who pulled a fast one over ten years ago and hasn't been seen since. Miles receives strange messages from the elusive Hayden once in a blue moon; he fears for his brother's sanity and is obsessed with finding him. Inevitably, living off the grid is a lot more dangerous than it was a century ago; criminals trafficking in stolen identities make this a twenty-first century story if ever there was one. A restless, disquieting undertow develops as each story progresses, with no real climax; ultimately I was left with that feeling, too.
Best Line:
"Yet history is one long regret. Everything might have turned out so differently." (pg. 110)
Kim
Rating:
Review
Three different people tell their stories throughout this novel, but it didn't take long for me to think that they aren't all that different from one another. Despondent Miles Cheshire is looking for his lost twin brother, Hayden, who may or may not be mentally ill. Miles has spent countless hours/days/weeks and money crisscrossing the US searching for Hayden, yet he always comes up empty-handed and more confused about his brother's whereabouts. Lucy Lattimore is newly graduated from high school and has left her small town with her history teacher, George Orson, buying into his promise of living a rich life in exotic locals, only to find herself biding time in an abandoned hotel in Nebraska. Lucy quickly become suspicious and disenchanted with George, until he finally shares his plans for their future, which manage to scare her as well. Ryan Schuyler is a college student when he develops a relationship with a man he always knew as his uncle Jay, and they work a huge identity fraud scheme together that, surprisingly, is a good vocation for Ryan. All three main characters live somewhat aimless lives, and are equally susceptible to the strong-willed people they are currently running with, or towards in Miles's case. I liked this story, and would recommend it, as it is so much bigger than what the book jacket describes. I especially liked finding out just how similar the main characters were to one another, and the ending was great.
Best Line:
"I think probably most people waste their lives in one way or another," John Russell said."
