phyllish
Written on Dec 10, 2018
My rating is 4.5 stars
This is one of those books that is going to stay with me for a long time. It is a deeply moving story. Though it is primarily about Evie’s grief and guilt, it is not filled with darkness. There is hope. . .
My heart broke for Evie and her sisters. Dealing with a mentally ill mother and feeling that they had no one who cared about them was so tragic. And then to be shuffled off to their father who had abandoned them nine years earlier? Who then decided to try to act like a dad and discipline them and tell them what to do? Yeah, you know how well that went over.
Poor Evie had had to act as the mother in the family pretty much since their dad left. And though she did a pretty good job of it, considering, her poor fourteen-year-old sister, Sammy, was such a mess. I wanted to shake Sammy and ground her and hug her and help her to get her life back on track. She broke my heart!!
Evie’s ignorance about what God is like caused her to fear judgement from him. Especially because she thought she was responsible for everyone in her family and for everything that went wrong.
I loved the way that Evie daydreamed to escape her reality. She was a story-teller at heart and had made up a story of a star that lost its light and needed to be rescued from where it sank. She told it to Lily often. The author wove that theme throughout in a beautiful way.
While Evie’s journey was hard and there were some ugly situations, I really enjoyed it and am so glad for the opportunity to have read it.
This is a fantastic story for someone who feels they have no hope. Being told from Evie’s point of view, it shows how the truths of God sound to one who feels abandoned and it gently leads the reader to see who God is and His love for us.
Be prepared, though, as there are some dark situations. Underage drinking (not described but you know it is happening) and domestic violence play a small part. They are integral to the narrative and are handled with tact and class.
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I was given a copy of this book. I was not required to give a favorable review nor was any money received for this review. All comments and opinions are my own.