Rating: 4/5 Hoots
Release Date: 9/12/2011
GoodReads.Com Review:
Willa is lucky: She has a loving blended family that gets along. Not all families are so fortunate. But when a bloody crime takes place hundreds of miles away, it has an explosive effect on Willa’s peaceful life. The estranged father she hardly remembers has murdered his new wife and children, and is headed east toward Willa and her mother.
Under police protection, Willa discovers that her mother has harbored secrets that are threatening to boil over. Has everything Willa believed about herself been a lie? As Willa sets out to untangle the mysteries of her past, she keeps her own secret—one that has the potential to tear her family apart.
My Review:
Susan Beth Pfeffer’s Life as We Knew It and its two sequels have been on my favorites list for a while, so when I saw that she had a new book coming out this year, I was thrilled. I am pleased to report that Blood Wounds does not disappoint. Although the subject matter differs, the distinctive voice and writing style I enjoyed so much in her other books is present in Blood Wounds too.
The story is intense- Willa’s biological father brutally murders his family, and there is just enough detail to describe how horrific it is, but it is handled tastefully. The murders take place at the beginning of the book, and most of the plot is revolves around how Willa comes to terms with it, and the unexpected consequences it has on her family life.
I admired Willa, and felt compelled to keep reading about her emotional struggles as she copes with the fact that she is related to someone with someone with the capacity for that kind of violence. She is courageous, mature and handles unimaginable events with grace. As I said above, I love Pfeffer’s writing style. The supporting characters in the novel are incredibly well-developed as well- they all have their strengths and their flaws, and the relationships and family dynamic felt realistic and believable to me.
Blood Wounds was a great read, and I would definitely recommend it! I would pair it with Miles from Ordinary by Carol Lynch Williams.
No comments:
Post a Comment