Author: Amy Engel
Publication Information: Crown. 2017. 288 pages.
ISBN: 1101906669 / 978-1101906668
Book Source: I received this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program free of cost in exchange for an honest review.
Opening Sentence: "The first time I saw Roanoke was in a dream."
Favorite Quote: "As a little girl I'd tried to please, tried to live by a simple refrain my mother repeated like a desperate prayer in my ear: be good be good be good. But I'd known even then it wouldn't work..."
Jane, Sophia. Penelope. Eleanor. Camilla. Emmeline. Allegra. Lane. These are the Roanoke girls with Allegra and Lane being the youngest generation. Roanoke is a family home that "looked like something an insane person would build..." Lane comes to Roanoke for the first time as a teenager when her mother's death leaves her orphaned. At that time, Allegra is the only other Roanoke girl in residence. Lane loses her mother as a teenager while Allegra lost her as a toddler. Lane has known another life while Roanoke is all Allegra has.
Their grandparents Yates and Lilian are raising them both. A friendship blossoms between Lane and Allegra. So does a rivalry as is likely to happen at that age. Lane also learns the dark history of the Roanoke girls. They either run or die. All of them. Things happen; a rift happens; and Lane leaves, promising never to return. Lane runs.
Fast forward many years. Lane finally returns for Allegra has disappeared. Did she die or did she run? What underlies the darkness at Roanoke? Set in a small town in Kansas, that is the premise of this book. This premise underlies many a wonderful family and small town stories. Like other books in the genre, the book moves between past and present. Reading such a book is the process of slowly peeling back the years of history to finally get at the answer. Sometimes, the answer is satisfactory and sometimes not. More often than not, the process of getting there makes for an interesting read.
The biggest issue with this book is that it drops a bombshell near the beginning of the book as to the reason for the history of the Roanoke girls. It's difficult to discuss without a spoiler, but let's just say, the answer is a disturbing topic so reader beware. More than that, its placement in the book removes much of the mystery surrounding these young women and, as such, removes much of the interest from the book. Even more than that, after the big reveal, the book proceeds in a relatively predictable manner; no further surprises really come except for the extent to which the darkness prevailed in that household. Even at the end, the books wraps up this twisted family into a neat package of hope for the future - neither satisfying not realistic. Although not graphic, the repeated explanations of what happens at Roanoke conjures up disturbing images I wish I could unsee.
The crux of engaging in a book about an emotionally charged topic is engaging with the characters. The characters in this book fall into four groups. The townspeople who have no idea what goes on in their midst. Those who suffer. Those who inflict suffering. Those who watch and allow it to happen. The book is narrated through Lane's eyes who falls into one of these groups, but I fin her a difficult character to engage with. She is one of the Roanoke girls but perhaps not the most interesting one. Through her eyes, the rest of the story then becomes a distanced and somewhat limiting view.
All these things combined with the unpalatable topic makes this a challenge book to finish.
Jane, Sophia. Penelope. Eleanor. Camilla. Emmeline. Allegra. Lane. These are the Roanoke girls with Allegra and Lane being the youngest generation. Roanoke is a family home that "looked like something an insane person would build..." Lane comes to Roanoke for the first time as a teenager when her mother's death leaves her orphaned. At that time, Allegra is the only other Roanoke girl in residence. Lane loses her mother as a teenager while Allegra lost her as a toddler. Lane has known another life while Roanoke is all Allegra has.
Their grandparents Yates and Lilian are raising them both. A friendship blossoms between Lane and Allegra. So does a rivalry as is likely to happen at that age. Lane also learns the dark history of the Roanoke girls. They either run or die. All of them. Things happen; a rift happens; and Lane leaves, promising never to return. Lane runs.
Fast forward many years. Lane finally returns for Allegra has disappeared. Did she die or did she run? What underlies the darkness at Roanoke? Set in a small town in Kansas, that is the premise of this book. This premise underlies many a wonderful family and small town stories. Like other books in the genre, the book moves between past and present. Reading such a book is the process of slowly peeling back the years of history to finally get at the answer. Sometimes, the answer is satisfactory and sometimes not. More often than not, the process of getting there makes for an interesting read.
The biggest issue with this book is that it drops a bombshell near the beginning of the book as to the reason for the history of the Roanoke girls. It's difficult to discuss without a spoiler, but let's just say, the answer is a disturbing topic so reader beware. More than that, its placement in the book removes much of the mystery surrounding these young women and, as such, removes much of the interest from the book. Even more than that, after the big reveal, the book proceeds in a relatively predictable manner; no further surprises really come except for the extent to which the darkness prevailed in that household. Even at the end, the books wraps up this twisted family into a neat package of hope for the future - neither satisfying not realistic. Although not graphic, the repeated explanations of what happens at Roanoke conjures up disturbing images I wish I could unsee.
The crux of engaging in a book about an emotionally charged topic is engaging with the characters. The characters in this book fall into four groups. The townspeople who have no idea what goes on in their midst. Those who suffer. Those who inflict suffering. Those who watch and allow it to happen. The book is narrated through Lane's eyes who falls into one of these groups, but I fin her a difficult character to engage with. She is one of the Roanoke girls but perhaps not the most interesting one. Through her eyes, the rest of the story then becomes a distanced and somewhat limiting view.
All these things combined with the unpalatable topic makes this a challenge book to finish.
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