Things You Leave Behind is an enthralling story about a college graduate named Angela who is unhappy with the daily grind. She feels stuck spinning her wheels waiting for something, really anything, to happen. Cliff, an eccentric college buddy, convinces her to go on a ridiculous treasure hunt to find a long-lost ring. When Angela wakes up in the body of a teen-aged boy, she discovers that things didn’t pan out as she had hoped. The story goes back and forth in time between Angela’s childhood and the present when she wakes up as Tyler. As the plot unfolds and she searches for answers to her time-traveling body-shifting dilemma, Angela has to deal with time marching on around her.
M.L. Kennedy has written a compelling story about an eerie lighthouse and it’s unusual lore. The antagonist, Angela is no fool. She has lived through tragedy and it has left her hardened on the outside. Her two close friends add a nice dynamic with their idiosyncrasies. The changing time-frame keeps the reader on their toes. Each chapter adds a critical aspect to Angela’s history, helping to shape her decisions and outlook. The cover is a fabulous preview for the kind of pop-culture references readers will enjoy. There is an odd overuse of the phrase ‘She did that thing’, but the author’s writing style is otherwise very solid. The comedic aspect of waking up a decade or more in the future is both inevitable and delightful. High praise for Things You Leave Behind. It is a thrilling story with an unexpected conclusion!
