My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is another Book I've Wanted to Read for Ages and finally decided to crack open this week.
Shaker Heights is a tidy and orderly suburb in Cleveland. Everything and everyone has a place. Including most members of the Richardson family.
When Mia Warren and her daughter Pearl rent a house from the Richardsons, all that changes. Mia is an artist, Pearl becomes friends with the Richardson kids, and their presence threatens to turn all of their organisation upside down...
I got caught up in the lives of these characters as soon as I started reading. Everything about this book is so addictive!
The first chapter is snappy and throws the reader into the middle of a fiery incident that happens after. After what? Well, after what happens prior to the house fire. The story takes us back, so we can understand how/why everything turned out this way. And I found this style of storytelling to be very effective.
I really enjoyed this author's writing style. It's very lyrical and follows a bunch of characters, telling their separate stories in a way that flows very well. Slipping from what's happening right now, into the past, and back again with perfect ease. While cleverly revealing enough details to keep the interest high, and also keeping plenty of secrets lurking beneath the surface.
The more I read, the more I wanted to keep going because I just HAD to know how everything went so wrong, and why.
The story starts out simple enough--a single mother and her teenage daughter rent a house from a family and their lives begin to mix together. But before I realised it, it took off in so many directions. There's a lot going on, including a variety of very serious social issues. But I never lost the thread of any subplot, or the main one, because this story makes such an impact. Packs quite a punch.
Oh, and I especially liked that it was set in the late 90s. The familiar historical events were expertly woven into the narrative and didn't distract from the main story. Even when there's so much to process, so many problems, surprises and unexpected revelations.
Another thing I found peculiar was how, even though I enjoyed the hell out of following these complicated characters, somewhere along the way I realised how awful most of them were. They all had secrets, lied continually, manipulated each other, and in some cases were just awful.
Elena Richardson, I'm talking about you. 😳
Anyway, this was an AWESOME book and I loved the hell out of every moment!
Now, I'm looking forward to checking out the TV show...
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