Search This Blog
June Reviews Link-Up
July Reviews Link-Up
August Reviews Link-Up
September Reviews Link-Up
October Reviews Link-Up
November Reviews Link-Up
December Reviews Link-Up
2024 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (1)
- Alaska
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas
- California (3)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii
- Idaho (2)
- Illinois (1)
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland
- Massachusetts (2)
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York (2)
- North Carolina (2)
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma (1)
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (2)
- Utah
- Vermont (1)
- Virginia (1)
- Washington (2)
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.*
International:
- Australia (1)
- Canada (1)
- England (7)
- France (1)
- Indonesia (1)
- Ireland (2)
- Italy (1)
- Scotland (2)
- The Netherlands (1)
2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Sad, Depressing Family Secrets Novel Another Meh Read for Me
5:37 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Sixty years ago, during the summer of 1935, 6-year-old Emily Evans went missing from her family's vacation home on an isolated Minnesota lake. The disappearance of her "pet" broke Emily's mother, who kept vigil at the lake ever after. Emily's older sisters, Lilith and Lucy, remained in Minnesota as well. Now, six decades later, Lilith has died and Lucy is about to follow. Before her death, she writes down the real story of what happened to Emily in a notebook. She hides it for Justine Evans, her grand-niece, to find in the lake house which she is set to inherit.
To Justine, the dilapidated vacation home represents a new start for her and her girls. Fleeing an abusive boyfriend, she needs a place to hide and heal. A remote lakeside cottage should make an idyllic spot for doing just that, but Justine's facing a long, cold winter in a crumbling home with only a strange old man for a neighbor. Soon, her sullen 11-year-old daughter becomes obsessed with the story of Emily Evans. That's just what Justine needs, especially with her greedy mother swooping in to "help," her old boyfriend looking for her, and her just trying to keep her little family together.
The lake house has seen too much tragedy and sorrow. Can Justine break the chain? Can finding out the truth behind Emily's long-ago disappearance help the ghosts of the past move on so that Emily's descendants can look to the future with hope and joy?
The Lost Girls, a debut novel by Heather Young, tells an atmospheric, compelling story about a loss that shatters the lives of all involved. Its characters are complex and interesting, although few are truly likable. The plot rambles along a bit, making the tale feel a bit loosey-goosey. Overall, the novel is sad and depressing. The Lost Girls interested me enough to finish reading it, but in the end, I found it to be kind of a meh read for me. Bummer.
(Readalikes: Reminds me a little of The House on Primrose Pond by Yona Zeldis McDonough, although this novel is much darker)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for language (a couple of F-bombs, plus milder expletives), violence, and disturbing subject matter
To the FTC, with love: I bought a copy of The Lost Girls from Amazon with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger. Ha ha.
1 comment:
Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.
P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)
Reading
Listening
Followin' with Bloglovin'
-
Daily Prompt 15 May Wednesday1 hour ago
-
-
-
World of Books ~ Review9 hours ago
-
Review: One of the Girls by Lucy Clarke12 hours ago
-
-
100 Best Books Written by Women19 hours ago
-
-
-
-
Spoon To Be Dead By Dana Mentink23 hours ago
-
The Canal Murders by J R Ellis1 day ago
-
Very Bad Company by Emma Rosenblum1 day ago
-
Displaced Persons - Joan Leegant1 day ago
-
Reading Recap April 20241 day ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Bridge to Bat City2 days ago
-
A Game of Hearts2 days ago
-
-
-
Blood Rubies by Mailan Doquang5 days ago
-
-
-
-
47. The One and Only Family1 week ago
-
A bit of catching up1 week ago
-
-
May TBR2 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
March Monthly Wrap-up1 month ago
-
-
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?7 months ago
-
6/25/23 Extra Ezra10 months ago
-
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
Grab my Button!
Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ▼ 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
- ► 2014 (133)
- ► 2013 (183)
- ► 2012 (193)
- ► 2011 (232)
- ► 2010 (257)
- ► 2009 (211)
- ► 2008 (192)
Before getting to your analysis part of the review I was thinking that there were a few too many stories going on and then you ended up basically saying that. Too bad because the basic premise is a good one.
ReplyDelete