Unfortunately, this novel did not resonate with me. I think the use of language felt formal, stilted, and kept me at an emotional distance, which is odd as the story is very emotional indeed. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing a digital ARC for review.

Aubrey has moved from town to town her whole life. Her father has the job that no one wants: he's the guy who swoops in to run a company when it's on its last legs, the guy who mercilessly cuts payroll by half in order to salvage what's left. As a result, he's usually hated by most of the town---and, by extension, so is Aubrey.

When Aubrey moves to Alder Ferry, she expects more of the same. While out exploring the forest behind her new home one day, though, she meets Tommy, a quiet local boy who she immediately befriends. The two become inseparable and, over time, learn to lean on each other as they face some incredibly awful circumstances.

I absolutely do not understand all the glowing reviews for this book. The first 25% of the story was torture to get through. I think the writing is meant to be poetic and meandering and moody, but I just found it overwrought and boring. There were so many words, and yet nothing was actually said.

And then suddenly (SPOILER ALERT), bam, out of nowhere: physical abuse against a child, sexual abuse against a child, and finally child rape. There was zero story development between these abuses. It was like the author just wanted to put that in there for shock value.

And yet I persevered. Halfway through, I told myself to be patient. Maybe the random change in tone meant the story was turning into some kind of who-dunnit mystery or something?

But no. The first wave of crimes are solved almost immediately, and the author moves right back into pointless pontificating and MORE horrific abuses.

Three-quarters of the way through I was over it. I skimmed the rest of the book, and I can't tell you how happy I am to be done with it. I'm definitely in the minority on this one, but nope. Nope, nope, nope.

I have delayed writing a review of this book thinking I might change my mind, that I may have misunderstood the author’s intention, but upon reflection I can’t dispel the opinion that this was one of the most tragic books I have ever read. The story is narrated by thirteen year old Aubrey Worthington, an only child in an extremely dysfunctional family. She can find no positives in her life and being alone with either of her parents is intolerable. She perceives herself as the daughter of the most despised man in town and it makes no difference in which town they live. Her father is an executive with a manufacturing conglomerate that is taking over plants along the east coast, laying off workers, absorbing whatever profits are left and moving on to the next target.

Arriving at Alder Ferry in 1974 was just another stop and the story centers around this town, Aubrey Worthington, Alton Mackay known as Tommy, a solitary oak tree and a stand of alders. It is in this stand of Alder trees that Aubrey and Tommy find refuge from their daily struggles. It is in this environment that the writing soars. Hate, violence, brutality, child abuse, betrayal, are all in this book. I hoped for more humanity, compassion, and understanding.

It took me longer to finish this book than I thought possible, but I attribute that to the depth of the writing. I savored the words and descriptions. The writing is very good with beautiful, mellifluous descriptions. The story is just too painful.

Thank you NetGalley, HA Callum and Sunbury Press for a copy.

This was a beautifully tragic book. This was a love story between Aubrey and Anton, Bree and Tommy. This was a coming of age story but so much more. Please do not put it aside thinking that is all it is. Mr. Callum loved each and everyone of his characters, the good the bad and the ugly, and presented them to the reader to embrace. The story was so well laid out that the reader can almost imagine the author ending his writing day feeling a bit bittersweet as his story and characters grew. He held nothing back to in his writing and I frequently found myself rereading a paragraph or phrase, not because I had skimmed it the first time but because, just like the peace Bree and Tommy found in the alders, I felt the same in Mr. Callum's writing.

"Our rejection by everyone else drew us together. No matter what the people around us did to make us feel different towards one another, our compassion for each other's predicament prevent that split from occurring."

Isn't that the level of friendship everyone strives for? True understanding? Unbreakable acceptance? While this story is heartbreaking and beautiful, it does include some violence and child abuse. It was not included lightheartedly but should be noted for those that might be avoiding the subjects. However, despite these unpleasant topics, the book is well worth reading.

"We came from different worlds, but here we were misery enjoying company. Our common suffering at home was the bridge that gapped the social distance between us. In the end, we were both two misbegotten children thrown to parents who could have cared less about us, except for the fact that we had had the audacity to circumvent the plans they imagined for their lives."

Are you kidding me? Who writes like that?

This book is To Kill a Mockingbird for a new generation. Yep. I said it.
There's only one difference, H.A. Callum is a far superior writer. Yep. I said that, too.

Simply said, this coming of age story is a work of art. Perhaps that is due to the fact Callum is not only a novelist but a poet as well. With his breathtakingly eloquent, and yes, poetic prose, he has breathed life into the pages of this story the likes of which most writers failingly strive their entire lives to achieve.

This book is as beautiful as it is tragic, featuring a pair of teenagers, Aubrey and Tommy, from different sides of the tracks that develop a relationship that not only transcends the insurmountable obstacles they both face, but it propels them to find a way to escape their circumstances, with each finding strength in the other that they never knew they had and most likely would have never found without the other.

This story is so exquisitely written that I found myself pausing to re-read many passages, multiple times in fact, until I had them committed to memory, in complete awe of the emotions the author was able to draw from me with only a few words, placed perfectly in a sequence that left me breathless.

Here's one of my favorite passages as relayed by Aubrey while Tommy reads her a poem he wrote:

"His eyes were the lungs to his soul; they breathed in each word and brought life to them as they danced across his lips."

If that's not sigh worthy then I must be ignorant of the definition.

I strongly recommend this book as it is a master class in mellifluousness the likes of which one rarely comes across, if ever.


I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Great book - well written. Story is based around 2 characters. Not a bad book all round. Thank you to both NetGalley and Sunbury Press Inc for giving me the opportunity to read Whispers in the Alders in exchange for my honest unbiased review.