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Jan 12, 2017JCLChrisK rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
"It happened in little bits, not all at once, and it wasn't easy to figure out what to do along the way." From the very beginning--the short prologue, and even the cover of the hardback jacket--readers are told momentous things are coming. Something weighty and life-altering. As the story begins to gradually unfold, the foreshadowing continues with little comments like, "We would have been spared some trouble if we had not crossed paths that day." Even so, it all happens in little bits, not all at once, and when the full course of events is finally revealed it manages to shock and disturb in spite of the warnings. That's not to say that this is a dark or disturbing book, merely momentous and weighty. This is a beautifully crafted book with as vivid a sense of place, time, and character as I've encountered. Readers come to fully know the story's setting and participants with an affecting clarity. Anabelle makes a wonderful narrator, and her carefully observed insights into herself and others provide a perfect perspective for understanding the tragedies at the heart of the story. She knows, by the end, that she has made a significant transition from childhood to adulthood. She knows far more about pain and suffering, and she knows far more about decency and kindness and community. The unfolding of that transition is transporting, meaningful, and moving. This is a story you feel.