TLC Book Tour: What Happened to Hannah by Mary Kay McComas

Title: What Happened to Hannah
Author: Mary Kay McComas
Publisher: William Morrow
Publish Date: February 7, 2012
Source: TLC Tours

Why You're Reading This Book:

• You're a fiction fan.
• You like family stories.
• You like dysfunctional family stories.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "As a teenager, Hannah Benson ran away from home in order to save herself. Now, twenty years later, the past comes calling and delivers life-changing news: her mother and sister have passed away, leaving Hannah the guardian of her fifteen-year-old niece. Returning home to bitter memories and devastating secrets, Hannah must overcome her painful past to pave a future with her niece, the last best chance at a family for both of them. She begins to create a new, happier life with her niece and rekindles a relationship with Grady Steadman, one of the few people she's ever called a friend.

But she can't forget what she cannot forgive, or lay to rest those ghosts that will not die. Will love and trust--and the truth--give her the strength to stand her ground and fight for what she deserves?"

My Two Cents:

Overall, I liked this book. Hannah ran away from home as a teenager to get away from the horrible events of her past. As an adult, she's called back to her small Virginian town to become the guardian of her niece, the last living member of her family and one she has never met.

I really did not like Hannah in the beginning. She grudgingly travels from Baltimore to southern Virginia to meet her niece, Anna, who she automatically seems to not like because of her connection to Hannah's sister and mother, none of which is Anna's fault at all. I didn't like how sort of cold Hannah was in the beginning. Hannah eventually thaws a little bit and becomes a lot more likable and human. The transformation does seem to sort of happen overnight though, which seemed really quick to me.

The story itself was really interesting. It was interesting to see how Hannah feels when she comes back to a place where so many bad things happened. I would have liked to know more about Ruth, Anna's mother and Hannah's sister, and why Hannah didn't seem to feel any bound to her little sister. I also thought that some of the scenes were sort of rushed through and came to too neat of an ending that kind of pulled you out of the story wondering why things ended in that neat way.

Overall, this is still a good read about the different definitions of family. 

Don't Forget to Follow The Rest of the Tour:

Tuesday, February 7th: Life in the Thumb
Wednesday, February 8th: Tina’s Book Reviews
Thursday, February 9th: A Bookish Affair
Monday, February 13th: The Book Bag
Wednesday, February 15th: Jenn’s Bookshelves
Thursday, February 16th: A Cozy Reader’s Corner
Monday, February 20th: Sara’s Organized Chaos
Tuesday, February 21st: Book Hooked Blog
Wednesday, February 22nd: Raging Bibliomania
Thursday, February 23rd: Library of Clean Reads