LitPick Review
Guinevere has never known a “normal” life thanks to her mother, Vienna, who can’t remember anything past the age of thirteen thanks to an incident that occurred when Guinevere was young that no one seems to want to talk about. Nevertheless, Jed St. Clair, Guinevere’s father, never stopped loving Vienna and made it his life’s work to learn all there is to know about the brain, so that someday Vienna might remember that she’s a mother to two young children, that she got married to her school crush, and that her life went beyond the thirteen years she can remember. That’s why Guinevere, her mother, her father, and her little sister Bitty moved to a tiny town in Iowa known as Crow – the place where Vienna grew up, so that she might begin to remember. But when a neighbor goes missing, Guinevere makes it her mission to find out what happened to him, no matter the cost. Along the way, she has lots of adventures, uncovers mysterious secrets about Vienna and her past, and meets an unexpected (possible murderer) person known as Gaysie Cutter.
Opinion:
This book took me a long time to get into. In fact, it wasn’t until the last section that I became engaged in the story. I feel like this book could be shortened, and some of the unnecessary parts that don’t engage the plot could be removed. Don’t get me wrong – Amy Makechnie is a great writer! This story just wasn’t the most eye-catching for me.
One of my favorite parts about this book was the character representation – specifically the female characters. Guinevere helps to show young girls that they can speak up, and that you should never hold yourself back. Gaysie Cutter is herself, and never anything less, which is something that our society could take a lesson or two from. And Vienna St. Clair helps to show that no matter if you have a mental, physical, or any other type of disability, that should never take away from who you are and that we should always try to stay positive, even in the darkest of situations.
