Shut the Door By: Amanda Marquit

This is a spellbounding novel written by a teenager who has a lot of potential. She captivates the reader from the begining of the novel to the end. It's a story about a family who seems so real to life in our modern world. It's a sad story, but true, how a stay home mother, and wife neglects her husband and two teenage daughters. The daughters seem to be trying to find themselves by living new kinds of lives. This of course is a dysfunctional family. The reader captures the inner world of crisis in this novel.

Lilliana and Vivian are the main characters in the book in my opinion. They are teenagers searching for their own identity in society. These two sisters have no support from their parents. Therefore, the teens take risks and disturbing transformations.

The mother, Beatrice is clueless about all her surroundings, and we see this throughout the book.
In fact, Beatrice seems to be going mad. Their father Harry no longer provides the closeness of a family unit that is needed,

The climax is when their father Harry is gone on a long business trip, and he reevaluates family roles and relationships. The choices made are earth shaking to the family. This novel reminds us of what happens when our support systems go and we become emotionally disconnected from the people we love the most.