101 Books to Read Before You Die discussion

Please post your thoughts on this children's story. I don't think it's as well known of a book, so the discussion should be interesting!

Finished it a few days ago.
It made me remember , maybe its the age of the main character.

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I liked many things in the story. The way it was narrated was one of them. How the story of Sal was the main story, but was hid behind the another story of her friend. Even though I guessed that Sal's mother might be dead, the way it was revealed made my throat tighten. :(
I also noticed that how Sal grew mature and understood that some things are better let go along with her friend Phoebe's story.
Funny things were her grandparents. I had to read twice Gramps words. And I often forgot that Sal was narrating this story in a car journey.
Also the fear of stepping into teenage girls about lunatics,murders and love gave me some laugh.
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I read it last month and was really irritated with the first half of the book, because I get so frustrated with people in real life and in stories who abandon their families to "go find themselves" and I wasn't sure if that was the direction the book was going to go. I was also very confused about the dad's apparent rapid new attachment and couldn't rectify that in my brain with the separation and pain of the story. The ending was a little more fulfilling in that than I had anticipated.

I gave it a 3/5.

Here's my review:
I'm torn on my overall review of this book, because for much of it, it just sounded like an adult trying to sound like a 13-year-old child (which, let's be honest, is true) which always sounds fake to me (probably because it is). I was annoyed with many of the characters (the adults, mostly) and as I'm tired of stories of one spouse or another running off to "find themselves," whatever the heck that's supposed to mean as a growth adult, I wasn't enjoying the undercurrent.

The ending though was actually very well done, bittersweet, but more honest feeling, and I was glad I had read it. It's not necessarily one I would recommend to everyone, especially depending on the sensitivity and fears of an individual child, but for someone going through loss of one kind or another, it could be helpful to process the emotions and struggles, from the anger to guilt to fear, that all must face in similar situations. It could be especially helpful for a younger child who may feel that their emotions are wrong or that they are all alone in what they are feeling.