Let the northern lights erase your name 1

This book has started off a lot better then expected. This is a story about family, love, self being, and importance. The main character, Clarissa, is not the typical protagonist, and I still can't figure out why the reader is so drawn to her. Clarissa leaves her boyfriend Panjak, without even saying a word. Once she finds out that her father was not her real birth father, she secretly packs and heads over seas. A person who can just sneak out in the middle of the night leaving their loved one behind is not someone that the reader usually cares for, but the author does such a good job of making you actually feel for this character. Another aspect of Clarissa that I am not too fond of is her outook on her family. She actually says in the story that she envies her retarted brother, because he does not understand that their father passed away. This is a horribly offensive thing to say, especially about a sibling. However when finding out about all of her troubles and secrets, you still feel sympathy for her. What I do like about this book is the feeling of freedom. The narrator speaks freely and does not restrict the true feelings about any topic. In this case, I think the obscene language is actually a positive addition.
It's hard to say whether or not Clarissa overreacts to learning about the information of her dad because I have never personally been in that situation. The reader learns a lot about the protagonist once she heads on her journey, because one event that occurs is Clarissa sleeping with another man, only to sneak out after. I am very interested to see whether or not Clarissa comes to terms with her family situations and heads back to the states, or whether she lets these secrets haunt her, and stays over seas.