Poor Elise from the projects falls in love with the charming Jamey, trust-fund Yale undergraduate. He in turn, is smitten and stimulated by her; she happened into his life at the right time,during a rebellious period. 
 I was captivated by the imaginative, poetic writing, and the well-drawn characters with complex background stories. Were their character arcs believable? Yes, I believed them--good writing can make you believe anything. I didn't really like Jamey or Elise, but I felt sorry for Elise. I think (view spoiler)[ Jamey was showing signs of mental illness even before he chose to love Elise, so I wasn't surprised when he had his psychotic breakdown. (hide spoiler)] Still, their love was real. I loved the steamy bawdiness of the sex scenes, which added the right, necessary tone to their relationship. 
 This has a suspenseful teaser before the first chapter, like a crime novel. This literary work grabs you on it's own merit-it doesn't need that cheap ploy. A very good novel, but on the gritty side.