I really enjoyed this book. This author is similar to Liane Moriarty (The Husband's Secret, What Alice Forgot....). The story - or really two stories - move along and you know they are connected some way, but you don't know how. It jumps back and forth in time, but not in a distracting way. Usually I like one story more than another when the author does this, but in this book I was invested in both stories.
The ending was reasonable, everything considered. The thing that struck me after I was done reading the entire book was how incredibly sad Raney's life was...beginning, middle, and end. She was basically abandoned by so many key people in her life: her unknown father, her mother, Bo, Cleet - all by different methods, but abandoned none-the-less. Even David in the end. I honestly didn't get what the author was saying in the paragraph describing Raney getting hit by a car/truck? Who actually hit her? What was thrown into the lake? How did her bag of clothes get out of her vehicle? Whose tail lights did she see? Who was in the other vehicle? What happened to the fawn? She got out of the car to care for the doe that was hit, but everything after that was so confusing. And if David didn't hit her himself and drive away, then why didn't he go see her in the hospital? Why didn't he tell Jake there had been an accident? David didn't seem "evil" in the story, just untrustworthy, hot-headed, and "ocd" about his clothing. I didn't like him, but I didn't hate him - until the end.
Eric certainly spent his life avoiding commitment! I understood his uncertainty about his lifespan, but I thought it was weird that it took him so long to commit to Jake. I know he didn't want children because he didn't want to pass along the neurofibromatosis, and he went along with the first paternity test just fine, but he seemed so uncommitted to the process and to the possibility of having a son! Charlotte really had to push him along. I'm sure the chimera explanation will bother some readers, but I just thought it was an interesting twist to the story. :)
Other than Raney, I also felt sad about Cleet. He was such a loving, hardworking man who took pride in his work. The whole lawsuit, and watching this man crumble because he could no longer support his family, was horribly sad. When he left to work on the boat, I was happy that he had found a solution to their money problems. Didn't expect that twist in the story either! Why do people think their loved ones are better off without them??
Even though I felt sad about both Cleet and Raney, I thought the book definitely ended on a positive note with Eric, Charlotte and Jake. Fortunately.
I will read more by this author.
Wendy's Rating: ****
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