Welcome to Litsy!

Loving this so far

Wasn't a huge fan of the writing style. The constant flashbacks every chapter to explain every little thing, was annoying.

However the plot, the story and the characters all made me more emotional than I expected to be.

This wasn‘t what I expected based on the synopsis but I wasn‘t disappointed either.

I have FINALLY finished the massive pile of backlogged issues of The New Yorker, so it‘s time to really dive back into the Library Pile in earnest. (So that I can THEN start properly tackling the stacks upon stacks of books I own. 😂) tldr: I‘m a mess, but it‘s fine. I‘m like Elizabeth Warren: I have a plan, and that‘s what counts. 😂 #acrookedtree #unamannion

This novel is part literary thriller and part coming-of-age story. Libby‘s mother puts her little sister Ellen out of a dark rural road after an argument. Ellen gets picked up by a bad man and leaps from the car. This sets in motion a chain of events that draws in their whole community.

Libby reminds me of everything I hated about being 15, perhaps that‘s why I disliked her. She tries to involve herself in things she‘s too young to understand. ⬇️

Not exactly a fun read, but a fairly well-done novel that reminds me all too well how vulnerable we are as children, especially when the adults in our lives can't keep it together. I think one could call it atmospheric...it has a very solid sense of place.
A #gettbr selection and August #doublespin @TheAromaofBooks

Audio-sewing. I didn't expect to need my mask-making skills for so long, but it's exciting to be making them for a new job. Starting this weekend I'm going to be teaching language arts to middle schoolers at an after-school program for accelerated students. I'm excited to be working with the kids, and it also gives me an excuse to buy some quirky fun fabrics that my own kids (and my spouse) are embarrassed to wear.

Ugh. I am such a sucker for a pretty cover. This one had a great description and irresistible cover art but the actual story was lacking. I felt that the setup had potential but the execution was off. A series of events is set into motion when a young girl is forced to walk a long way home after being kicked out of the car by her mother. Her sister Libby, our POV, feels guilty and repercussions are never ending. Absent mother. Just meh.

I‘m so excited to start this, I‘ve seen other reviews. I love the telling from the sister‘s viewpoint, and I‘m wondering how I will feel towards the mother, whether I will empathise or blame her.

This is a slow burning story with some well drawn characters. Beautifully and evocatively written, it‘s a tale of secrets, how they unravel and then affect those peoples around them. There is a certain amount of suspense and also a couple of dark and disturbing scenes, as well as some life affirming moments. It took me a little while to get into the flow of the writing, but once I did I enjoyed it. An engaging and thought provoking debut.

A wise, deep-probing exploration of the complexities of youth as seen through the eyes of narrator, Libby, who tells the story of her family dynamic on Valley Forge Mountain in rural Pennsylvania beginning with one fateful night with repercussions that last through the summer. Coming-of-age concerns such as loyalty, trust, loss, self-esteem, and a place to call home are sensitively depicted.

#Pigeonhole

Vague cover. Vague plot. 🙄

It‘s 85 and sunny here in SoCal so naturally I‘m going to read something dark and atmospheric as an attempt to make it feel like January.

I adored this book. The emotions it conjured were powerful and the story had me fully intrigued from start to finish. Libby, who was fifteen when the incident occurred, narrates. Her voice, with all its worry, guilt, and sadness, felt overwhelmingly real. The observations she described grasped my heart and made it ache in raw, familiar ways. This novel‘s haunting honesty examines the mess even the most pristine in appearance can be.

The story grabbed me at the beginning, but meandered and became predictable to the point that I eventually stopped caring. There were too many unnecessary characters and plot points. There are elements here that worked, but as a whole it wasn‘t for me.

#ARC pub date 1/5/2021

“She didn‘t see the scars as a blemish but as experience written on her body, marks that added to her story about herself.”