BLUE PLATE SPECIAL by Michelle D. Kwasney

According to Dictionary.com, blue plate special is defined as "a specially priced main course, as of meat and vegetables, listed as an item on a menu, esp. in an inexpensive restaurant."  According to author Michelle D. Kwasney, our lives hand us our own "blue plate specials", and we must make the best of them.

BLUE PLATE SPECIAL follows the stories of Madeline, Desiree, and Ariel.  Their stories are both heart-wrenching and inspiring.  They involve tortured childhoods, rocky mother/daughter relationships, and lost and broken loves.

Madeline struggles with weight issues and a disfiguring burn on her arm.  Her mother is either wasted or out looking for her next loser boyfriend.  A lonesome teen with more bullies on her list of acquaintances than friends, Madeline constantly dreams of a better life.  Things just might change after she meets Tad.

Desiree only knows that her father was killed in a car accident.  Her mother hasn't been the same since.  The world revolves around her mother's pain leaving Desiree to fend for herself.  Things hit an all-time low when Larry, her mother's latest boyfriend, offers Desiree a ride home that ends in rape.  But wait!  Things can get lower because as a result, Desiree becomes pregnant.

Ariel has a good mom.  Their life together has been a struggle.  The only father Ariel knows has been in prison for most of her life.  He's guilty of killing a man, but his reasons were truly justified in the eyes of his family.  This challenging family history may be the reason Ariel feels drawn to Shane.  Despite her mother's disapproval and the warnings of her best friend, she believes they make the perfect couple.

BLUE PLATE SPECIAL is an amazing novel.  Kwasney deftly weaves a plot that magically unfolds as each character shares the details of her life.  I found myself rushing to get to the end, but at the same time wishing the book would last forever.