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Robin feels
responsible for her family when her father dies, and she bottles her
emotions in order to be strong for her mother and four siblings. She
works long hard hours at a factory job to help with their support. Her
relationships with three men (the father of her son, a married man, and
her first husband) are unsatisfying and heartbreaking. Then she meets
O.J.
O.J. falls in love
with Robin, but he neglects to tell her some important things about his
life. O.J. has a twin brother, A.J., who also falls in love with Robin
when he tries to help O.J. keep his secret. The story line is loosely
woven around lies, deception, and bendable morals.
Although written in
third person, I NEVER MEANT TO MAKE YOU CRY sometimes reads more like a
memoir or diary than a novel. The double spacing and lack of
chapter divisions felt strange at first, but once I got into the story,
the formatting no longer bothered me. The book would have been
improved by more careful attention to punctuation and pacing, but I related to the
characters and identified with their problems. However, the cliff-hanger
ending was disappointing and frustrating, making it necessary to read
the touted sequel to find out what will happen to the characters. I felt
cheated that there was no resolution to the story.
Reviewed by Marie DisBrow for The Road to Romance
March 11, 2004 |
