“Tomorrow was the last day of seventh grade for me. Soon I’d be running through the corn rows with my hands out to catch the pollen, the air exploding with the smell of green juice and earth. Summer meant everything detonating in fruit and flowers.”
“That’s the thing about small-town boys. All they had to do was come up with that one shtick, a crack at just the right time, or a Hail Mary touchdown, or nail the part of Romeo in the class play, and they were set. They never had to try again. Here’s the things about small-town girls: we let them get away with it.”
“And we stood there, in that safe pocket of smiles and laughter, summer dreams and yearbook autographs, and it was the last time we’d all be together again.
Alive, I mean.”
“I’d gone to bed a kid, but I woke up a teenager. An honest -to-god thirteen-year old. I felt different, I was sure of it.”
“In the end, I took the necklace, and if me ending up with that doesn’t tell you that there is a grand plan for this life, then you’re hopeless.”
This is a very dark story. Although it does not come right out and put deep descriptions on the things that happen, you will have no trouble imagining it. This is told from a twelve year old child’s view. A young girl, Cassandra/Cassie, who has her whole life ahead of her but goes through so much. She is quite the smart young lady too. A very kind child who should live a carefree life without a worry in the world. But she is worried. She knows things are not good in the town she lives in. She’s heard all the talk about the missing then returned boys and how they come back different. She lives in a house where things are not so great either. Secrets are all around her and her older sister. Nothing is explicit at all in this story but you’ll know. You’ll feel so bad for the children. The boys, even though some are bad, are heartbreaking in what they must have gone through. The sisters who are afraid of their own dad. A mother who refuses to listen.
This story goes into things that happen in life sometimes. From the peeping Tom to the so called Chester the Molester. To hints of incest. Boys being molested and given back. There are several people who you will suspect are the bad man but will you be able to guess for sure. I had a pretty good idea but didn’t know until the end. Cassie is a strong young girl who just wants the life of a normal child. To live in a world of peace and true love from parents who cherish her and her sister.
While some people may not like this story at all I found it to be interesting. How things came together. How things in this small town ran. How a family can be called a family when in reality it’s not at all. It takes way more than a married couple to be real parents. I didn’t like Cassie’s dad or mother. Her mother seemed very week and scared to speak out for her children even though she was a very educated woman and a high school teacher at that. Her dad had many issues going on. One that he survived Vietnam but in my opinion used that to get his way about almost everything from not being a good dad or husband to now having a job to help support his family. He was really the weak one though I still don’t like the mother either.
The two sisters are close. Very close and love each other very much. But it’s Cassie who is strong and seemingly independent in so many ways. She’s the one who will pull this story together. Solve the mystery around all that is wrong but on the level of a twelve year old. The author did a great job of keeping her a child in her words and actions. I applaud her for that. Great job Jess Lourey. Great job.
The only problem I had with this book, thus the 4 stars, was the ending. I wanted to know what happened. What happened to the dad, the teacher, Cassie and her sister and mother. What happened. Did the mother ever decide to take up for her daughters? Maybe she did. Maybe that is the way it’s suppose to play out. Maybe that is why it ended the way it did. I’d like to think so anyway.
Thank you to #NetGalley, #UnspeakableThings, #JessLourey, #Thomas&Mercer for the eARC of this book. This is my own true review.
I gave it 4 stars and do recommend it. It was a fast read for me and a very interesting one.
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