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This is the second half of a story that began in Leaving Paradise; you absolutely have to read it first and I recommend having this one ready at hand, since the first book ends rather abruptly and Caleb and Maggie's story is left somewhat hanging.

I don't see how I can avoid spoilers for how book 1 ended, so if you haven't read it and don't want the story spoiled, I'd skip this summary.

While Maggie realised that going to Spain was merely running away from things, Caleb got out of Paradise when things came to a head with his family. Eight months later, Caleb gets arrested for fleeing from a drug bust - not that he dealt drugs, but his flatmates were dealers. He has no one to call but his transition counsellor from his first offence Damon Manning, a big black man who takes no shit. He offers Caleb one chance to have the charges put aside: join him and a small group of kids who are touring schools and camps to share stories of how drinking and driving ruined their lives. When Caleb turns up at the rendezvous, he shocked to find Maggie there.

Maggie too is surprised. Things didn't end so well for their relationship eight months ago, when Maggie figured out the truth of the accident that left her with a permanent limp, while Caleb refused to trust her with the truth. Now, spending weeks on the road together, their remembered closeness returns but so does an antagonistic Caleb, who seems determined to make Maggie hate him. They push each other to their limits, until the truth can stand the pressure no longer.

It was interesting finding how much both Caleb and Maggie had changed over the months, Maggie growing stronger, Caleb more distant and with a tetchy attitude he didn't have in the first book. His motivations aren't as sound but it's like he doesn't know how to keep things from getting worse. Maggie often gives as good as she gets, and tries not to let Caleb manipulate her or bully her. Really, Caleb needed a good smack here - living in a drug den didn't help his temperament much, and he's prickly, wanting Maggie but stubbornly refusing to talk to her like he used to or let himself get involved. It's been a few weeks since I finished this, and I honestly can't remember what his silly argument was for keeping Maggie at a distance (while getting as physically close as he can), except for the old one of not wanting to share his secret.

I've always found this a tiresome device in romance fiction: there has to be some big obstacle preventing a happy relationship between the main characters, and it tends to be a rather ridiculous one. Well, sure, it makes sense to the character/s, but it comes across as pretty flimsy. Still, it gives momentum. While I can't imagine losing a year of my life for a crime I didn't commit, Caleb never regrets what he did, and you can't help but admire him for that. Maggie might have the more obvious injuries and sacrifices, but really, they're both scarred by the same thing and have a shared story - their bond is both natural and unbreakable, though it's up to them to make of it a friendship or something even more.

The group of oddball people they're thrown in with are entertaining - like Lenny, who is disgusting but oblivious to how little anyone likes him. The plot is straight-forward and it's interesting to hear the different stories the kids have, the mistakes they made. Elkeles never comes across as patronising or lecturing. I like the way she handles teen issues, and teenaged characters.

There's a good balance of light, comedic moments and more intense, tightly-strung clashes that provide both entertainment and an engrossing story. While reading this straight after finishing the previous book (and reading them both in one day) made it a tad harder at times, because I've got to the point where I need more variety and don't like to read the same author twice in a row, and the angst was more than I care for, it was a satisfying and realistic conclusion to Leaving Paradise.