Reviewed by Cocktails and Books on
Sophie lived with her father in a remote cabin in Arbon Valley. She almost never left the property, had no friends and relied on her father for everything. She believed him when he told her they lived like they did because he was protecting them. At the age of seventeen, her entire world crumbles when her father is arrested for shooting the boy who was trying to save her. Forced to live with a family she knew nothing about, she must learn a whole new way of life while trying to understand what this means for everything she knew before.
The story flips between Luke's (Sophie's father) version of events up until right after her birth, a young Sophie's version of events and Sophie at present day. As we flip from the different points of view, we get an understanding of what drove a young man to do what he did as well as how that decision not only affected himself, but Sophie's life and those of both of their extended family.
Sophie is in a spot that no one would want to be in. On the cusp of being an adult, you suddenly find out that everything you believed in was wrong. She handled these turn of events with a strength that is awe inspiring. She tried to fit into her new life, but she didn't take everything everyone said at face value and instead asked questions to gain understanding. She wanted to know what had led to her father taking her and why he felt it necessary to keep her isolated.
What was even more heartbreaking, to me, is when she discovered that everything with the way she lived seventeen years was due to mental illness. While that discovery destroyed whatever foundation she had left of her old life, it also opened her up to rebuilding a new life, with the man she loves, without worrying about curses.
This was a tough read, but the characters were wonderfully thought out and written, with a storyline that kept you wondering exactly what happened all those years ago.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 21 August, 2012: Finished reading
- 21 August, 2012: Reviewed