Thomson Rupert. Katherine Carlyle.

An intriguing blend of genres: coming of age, mystery, with a dreamlike quality makes Katherine Carlyle a thought provoking addition to the New Adult genre. Several distinct issues have impacted Katherine's growth. She feels very aware of having been a test tube baby. She often reflects on how long it took her parents to decide to implant and have her. She lost her beloved mother to cancer at a very young age. She feels that her birth directly contributes to the development of this cancer. She feels distant from her father, a traveling news correspondent. She feels keenly his blame for her mother's loss. She is lost as the book begins and looking everywhere for signs that point her to where she belongs. Eavesdropping on an innocent conversation between strangers leads her to embark on a coming of age ish journey through Germany and into the furthest reaches of Russia,

Emotionally, this book challenged me. I suffered with her and worried for her. Katherine takes chances that petrified this mom, but these chances lead her into the most amazing situations where she met the most interesting people. Some of them gave me the creeps, but what a testament to Thomson's ability to bring to life a large number of characters sometimes relatively quickly. While I was initially resistant to the seemingly haphazard way Katherine set out on this journey, I soon became immersed in the experience. I love how Thomsom created pockets of warmth and liveliness in places that were cold and lonely. He forces Katherine into warmth when she is deliberately seeking isolation. The reader is taken right to the edge with Katherine.

Oddly, though at some level I resist assigning genre, I have been actively seeking books classified as new adult to try to more fully understand the genre. I love what this title does in terms of applying coming of age ideas for the twenty somethings. Katherine's journey is lyrical and darkly realistic all at once. I have not read Thomson before but will be reading him again.