I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
I will tell you straightaway that the only reason I am not giving this book five stars is because the vocabulary was off for everyone at various times. I suspected very early on that the author is from the UK, based on random phrases, and sure enough when I took a look, I was correct. The author is from Scotland. I love Scotland, it is my fave country in the whole world. But teenagers from NYC hanging out on Long Island for the summer should speak like teenagers from NYC, not from the UK. It honestly got very distracting, and this is coming from someone who is a bonafied Anglophile. I am not sure why these words and phrases were overlooked throughout the book, there are so many instances of them occurring and I wish now I had documented them all. There were quite a lot and an editor should have made the changes, or the story should have taken place in the UK.
Now, onto the good stuff, because this was a really great story and I didn't want to put it down.
Louise and Peter have two high schoolers, Katie and James. Each summer the family heads to their beach house for some relaxation. However, this year Isa is joining them, Katie's best friend. This worries Lousie from the start, though she can't exactly say what it is about Isa that she feels is so dangerous. Even Katie was not enthusiastic about Isa coming along, but along she goes anyway, and does not return home alive.
Isa is not meant to be likable. None of the main characters - Louise, Katie, Isa - are actually very unlikable, truth be told. But that is the draw, they are all human and flawed in one way or another. The story is told from alternating view points of mother and daughter. Louise wondering how to protect her family from whatever trouble Isa will bring, and Katie constantly living in the shadow of her gorgeous best friend.
Both Isa and Louise have secrets. I really thought this would play into the story on a much bigger level than it did. So, this book wins the prize for stumping me. Louise was there the night Isa died, but not directly involved. That's all I can really say without giving more away.
Despite not being likable, it was easy to see that Isa was really just a lost little girl who needed her mom and dad to actually be parents, to pay attention to her and give her the love she needed and craved. All of Isa's behaviors stemmed from the dysfunction at home, her father's affair, her parents blindness to Isa's behaviors as they planned their second honeymoon and dumped their only child off on another family. Isa might have been a spoiled brat, but she deserved better than the ending she came to, drowning just feet from the end of summer bash at the beach where she had partied all season.
This book would be a full five stars if not for the language issues mentioned at the beginning. Highly recommended.
Interested by your comments about language. I'm reading a book ATM (about Diplomacy) by an ex-British ambassador to the US who said that one of the things they really hated in Washington was the inability to speak 'American'. I know what you (and he) means. It can be quite jarring. I've read a few historical novels where they used what I considered to be very modern idioms which plucked me out of the narrative and into Google to check. Not good for narrative flow! Did any phrase in particular really jump out at you?
ReplyDeleteJarring is a great way to describe it. You'd be trucking along reading, envisioning a beach on Long Island, and then BOOM! time for biscuits and tea. Little things like that, and phrases like standing on line, whereas here was say standing in line, etc. I will have to go back and find others, because there were enough that I noticed it often.
Deletesounds like an okay book for a modern one which i evade like the plague.... er, corona virus... i just find i get along fine with old books, mysteries, classics and the like; every time i try a modern production i can't stand it after five or nine pages... altho Neal Stephenson might be an exception - judy has piqued my interest about Cryptonomicon; i think i'll get a copy from Abebooks and try it... i feel so daring! (haha)...
ReplyDeleteDaring, indeed! I am getting back into thrillers, which are a nice change of pace from the heavy history I am always in. Aside from the language issue, this was a great mystery-ish type novel. The mystery is how Isa really died, who killed her, etc, but it still is not exactly a msytery/thriller. Plenty of family drama too.
DeleteThis sounds really good, Sarah! I am really curious about what happened at the beach house and what is going on with Isa. Great review!
ReplyDeleteIt may still be on NetGalley. I really, really liked it - far more than I was expecting. it was so hard to write a review without giving anything away. I hope others enjoy this one too - and I think people will as long as they fix the whole American vs. British English thing going on.
DeleteIsn't it irritating when a story that you like is plagued by some writer's tic that you find annoying? It happens to me more often than I should probably admit lest I seem like a crank. The overuse of a particular word or phrase or some such language twitch is just like the sound fingernails scraping a blackboard for me - distracting and ultimately maddening. Nevertheless, it's good to see that you were able to overcome this writer's tic and enjoy her book!
ReplyDeleteIt did get pretty distracting, because it was not constant, but it came up just enough that I noticed over the whole book. I have no problem with writers from one country writing about being in another country, but it has to be authentic and this did not always feel like that due to those words and phrases that were wholly British.
DeleteThat's annoying that the language was off, that would irritate me too. But apart from that it sounds really good.
ReplyDeleteMost definitely, I would still recommend this book to others who like this genre. And if those things are fixed before final publication, this would be a five star read for me. It may still be up on NetGalley if you are interested.
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