What I Had Before I Had You/Sarah Cornwell/278 pgs.

This debut novel by Sarah Cornwell is told from Olivia Reed's perspective. Olivia is fresh off of a divorce, and is taking her daughter, Carrie, and son, Daniel back to her hometown of Ocean Vista on the Jersey Shore. Olivia, as a teenager, had left her single parent mom, Myla, in search of her "dead" sisters. Once in Ocean Vista, Olivia becomes distracted when thinking of her past, and without her noticing, Daniel disappears. The reader gets a look into Olivia's past, while in the present the search is on for her missing son. This is a powerful novel dealing with family issues, bipolar disease, and unknown secrets. It has an air of melancholy, but is a very good read.