To be published 09/02/2023…
TRIGGER WARNING: THIS BOOK CONTAINS DEPICTIONS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. HOWEVER THEY ARE DEALTH WITH IN A TASTEFUL AND SENSITIVE MANNER.
July Hooper is ten years old, although her birthday is never much of an occasion. This is because her mother died in a car crash on her birthday when she was very young. Her dad doesn’t like to remember it and he doesn’t like to talk about her. July has a list of things she knows about her mum. It isn’t a very long list. Then, one summer, July learns something new and begins to wonder if everything on her list is a lie.
The mystery of her mother’s death is the thread that holds this book together and keeps it moving, but July’s home life is the thing that brings it to life. There is so much depth and complexity in the emotions displayed by all of the main characters, mostly the women, and it is these emotions that will stay with me for a long time. The love that July has for her father is heart-breaking. From an outside perspective her life is terrible, but for July everything that happens to her is completely normal. That this is a completely realistic scenario made it so much worse and also all the more important to read.
As for the mystery itself, I think that it is very well-done. I had very few moments where I guessed ahead at what had happened and there were a few moments where I made guesses that were wrong. Yet when the full truth was finally revealed it fit so perfectly. The ending is haunting, but also perfect. There are other ways this could have ended, but none which would have left me with quite so many emotions.
Escape to the Bookshelf 