I am not sure if The Gellespie County Fair by Marc Hess is a book for me. I love beautiful book covers, and this cover is beautiful. I read the first impression because of it, but there is a great deal of dysfunction in the novel. I liked the opening paragraphs where the main character, Carel, appears to be a concerned neighbor, but in actuality, is an opportunist, using a neighborhood fire and its cause to his own advantage. The fact that I was led to misjudge a character so completely, was very engaging. In a few pages, I had to reconsider many of my first thoughts. Carel is estranged from his daughter, Willow. Willow appears self-confident until the reader finds out that she cuts herself as a coping mechanism. Again, I was surprised by the reversal of my intial impression. Flawed characters are intriguing, providing that there are some (or one) redeeming characteristics. My problem is that I am not sure that there are. I like a hopeful story, someone or something to root for. If the story is hopeful, then I am all in, but if it is hopeless, then I am not interested. I am undecided as to whether I would like to know more.