There was much to enjoy here, but I found I couldn't connect with it. I'd read more from this author in the future though.

This book was hard to read for a lot of reasons. Mostly because of the child sexual abuse which made me nauseated. I will NEVER understand adults who take advantage of children. Though vague in it's description of the abuse incidents, I do not like reading any stories where children are harmed. I also had a hard time with this story because it was too slow for me. Besides, I wasn't really emotionally drawn to any of the characters.

The main subject matter, a woman mourning the death of her partner, is a good idea for a story. I just felt it could have been done better. Not saying it's a bad story at all, but just a bit generic and unemotional for me personally.

I was hoping to like this one more than I did. I just didn't really connect with any of the characters. I never felt the emotion the story was trying to convey.

This book surprised me with its intensity.

It tackles such difficult topics. Death and rape. But I think they were both handled very carefully, but yet were quite impactful. I took my time finishing it. It is not a book to just fly through. but worth the read!

Usually, I'm not a fan of stories told in two different times and I don't really like to read a diary format, but both worked very well with the story and I enjoyed reading about Jessie's life.

Claire felt very real in her pain and her coping mechanisms. And in her struggle to believe. what happened.
Her relationship with Jessie sounds so pure.

The layered portrayal of Uncle Jimmie was great too. Nothing glorifying, but showcasing various aspects of his personality even though we mostly get to see him through Jessie's eyes and therefore get to see the uglier, more despicable parts of him and how that contrast to how everyone else perceives him.

Jessie as a child, her way of thinking and acting, felt so real and true. Often I find children to be either too 'childlike' or too grown-up or not 'real' in books because the author forgot how the mind of children work but not in this one!

I can really recommend this book, though it definitely is on the heavier side. (And not what I usually read, but I'm glad I did)

This book was hard to read for several reasons. Number one: the child sexual abuse. Though vague in it's description of the abuse incidents, I do not personally like reading any stories where children are harmed. That being said, I also had a hard time with this story because it seemed to move rather too slowly for me. Also, I was not really emotionally drawn to any of the characters.

The main subject matter, a woman mourning the death of her partner, is a good idea for a story. I just felt it could have been done better. Not saying it's a bad story at all, but just a bit generic and unemotional for me personally.