Haunted by her involvement in her parents' death at the age of ten, Cassandra has never been confident in the love that others felt for her; not even her adoptive parents, her friends, and certainly not the man she loved with all her heart. So, after giving herself to her high school sweetheart on prom night, she flees from the overpowering fears and all those who supported her. And then after four years of sleeping with one strange man after another, she decided enough was enough. It was time to return to face those she'd left behind.

Amira Press (2007)
ISBN 9781934475041
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (5/07)

Since age ten, Cassandra has had a difficult life.  Leaving a candle burning in her home, her house burnt down and her parents died.  Carrying the weight of blame and guilt at not having been the one to have died has affected all of Cassandra’s relationships.   During her early teens she began dating Brenden.  At seventeen, she discovers that she is pregnant.  She doesn’t want to ruin Brenden’s future or be a further burden on those who have taken her in, so she runs away.  Trying to raise her daughter as a single parent is really rough.  Cassandra finds herself engaging in risky, promiscuous behavior as an escape, yet she finds that it just makes her life worse.

Four years after running away, Cassandra returns home to face the consequences of her decisions.  She wants her daughter to have a good life and to know her father.  Brenden and Cassandra have to struggle to get past the anger that he feels from her leaving him and not letting him know about his daughter.  Cassandra has to deal with not feeling worthy of a man like Brenden.  Other relationships also need healing. 

“No Matter What” is a book about healing old wounds.  Cassandra and Brenden both have to deal with serious consequences of actions that they have taken as a result of their grief from their past.  Brenden’s own mother abandoned him at age five.  When Cassandra left him, he did everything he could to avoid being in a committed relationship.  He hurt a lot of women with his actions.  He too must heal now. “No Matter What” is a very deep book.  The characters have to deal with overcoming some very painful situations and emotions.  This is the type of novel that you will want to read with your friends so that you can talk about it.  It leads to a great deal of introspection and really makes you think about what it would be like to have faced everything that Cassandra has at such a young age.  It is very hard to judge someone who has gone through so much.  Enjoy this novel.