The Girl She Used to Be - David Cristofano

Summary:  When Melody Grace McCartney was six years old, she and her parents witnessed a brutal act of violence--and then were lured into the Witness Protection Program.  And so Melody lost her identity, her home, her family, and ultimately her innocence.   She's been May Adams, Karen Smith, and countless others.  But the one person she has always longed to be is Melody Grace McCartney.

Now, twenty years later and still on the run, she's stunned when a man calls her by her real name.  Jonathan Bovaro, the mafioso sent to find her, knows her, the real her.  It's a thrill Melody can't resist and she goes with him willingly, defying the feds.  To the Justic Department, she's just a pawn in their war agains the Bovaro family.  But as dangerous as Jonathan is, he gives Melody the opportunity of a lifetime:  the chance to embrace her past and present and choose a future all her own.  (Summary from book - Image from goodreads.com)

My Review:   The more I think about it, the more I hate this book. The Girl She Used to Be started out surprisingly well.  I was intrigued by the developing story, amazed that a male author could write a female character so well, and I loved Melody's sarcastic demeanor and emotional intensity -- up until about page 50 when she turned into a complete moron. 
Okay, so maybe I didn't read the back as closely as I should have, but what the heck?!?  While I do believe that someone in Witness Protection would be miserable and have a difficult time investing in relationships or keeping their cover, especially as a child, anyone actually approached by a mafia hit-man would run screaming in the other direction.  They would NOT jump into a car with a complete stranger, (SPOILER) fall in love, and agree to meet and attempt to gain acceptance in the family that killed her parents.  Ever.  (END OF SPOILER)

Even if we could suspend reality for just a moment, and pretend that the world (and the mafia) work this way, this story is an epically bad movie waiting to happen -- complete with absurd characters, a Pretty Woman-esqe makeover, several overly dramatic "rescues", some of the most syrupy dialogue I have ever had the misfortune to read, and an ending that completely fell apart.  That kind of stuff generally means it belongs in the romance department with a pretty pink cover (with Fabio the Mafioso on it) not sitting smack in the middle of the adult fiction section smugly pretending it belongs there. 

Sidenote:  This book has been given 4 and 5 star reviews by others...so feel free to read it despite my review.  It's your hair.  You can pull it out if you want to.

My Rating:  1.5 Stars.  (The .5 is for the beginning, which wasn't near as bad as the end)  For the sensitive reader:  The author makes a point of not cursing (a la "what the fu--fudge") but there are several nearly sexual situations and some discussion of sexual matters.

Sum it up: Lame.