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Reviewed by Michael McManus for Readers' Favorite
Hannah Sampson is a near normal, adolescent who dreams of breaking the ties with her barely functional family, at least geographically. She is smart, admittedly cute, has a small circle of friends (none of whom have ever visited her home) but she lacks a boyfriend and any kind of co-ed social life. She was kissed once, but she suspects that may have been on a dare. Her story, "Dented Cans", takes us on a year-long foray through the events of a family life that consistently becomes more strained as she approaches her escape to a university she has yet to name. Discontent, from her and other family members, bubbles and steams until it finally explodes on the last day of a family vacation in the fall of her last year in high school. Emotions soar until a family secret is revealed and Hannah learns why the Sampsons are so quirky.
Heather Walsh has masterfully created the world of a sixteen-year-girl who dreams of freedom from a family she thinks has gone off the deep end. The author has given us real people to read about, from the father, an accountant who lives for saving money buying dented cans, to a not-so-younger brother who is plagued with some form of ADD, to her fragile mother with whom she has a very arms-length relationship and finally to her fuzzy little bother, Ben. Ms. Walsh does an especially fine job of portraying the gentle sweetness of Ben, a special needs eight-year-old who has gone undiagnosed and untreated for years. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a story that will remind you of your days when you lived with parents and siblings. Hannah’s story is chock full of universal truths and familiar circumstances.
