Since We Last Spoke

by Brenda Rufener

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 3.5 Stars

The lives of the Franks and the Grangers had been intertwined for two generations, but they become unraveled after both families lose a child.

This was a portrait of families crumbling under the pain of grief and loss. It showed how grief can be all consuming and how it can leech into all areas life.

My heart broke for these families. What a devastating loss they suffered. Rufener did a beautiful job capturing all those emotions, and I was hit in the feels over and over again as I read this story.

But it wasn't just the emotional punch she delivered, Rufener also managed to show so many different ways that people grieve and deal with loss. The adults in these families were kind of on the extreme side, while the children seemed to be doing a bit better, but suffering more due to absent parents.

The central focus was on Aggie and Max, who had more or less loved each other their whole lives, but were ripped apart when their parents began playing the blame game with respect to their siblings' deaths.

I was able to feel their emptiness, pain, and heartache as they tried to find their way back to each other. I so wanted them to defy their parents, and I was grateful that their best friends plotted to get them back together.

This was kind of a heavy book. The characters are drowning in their sadness, and it sort of consumed me as well, but there were some bright spots.

• Dr. Nelson was a surrogate mother to Aggie's younger sister, Grace, and a mentor to Aggie. I found her to be a good and stable presence, where Aggie really needed one.

• Heart of gold Henry was Max's best friend, and I think he was the voice of optimism in this story. It was quite apparent that Henry's home life was garbage, yet he always kept his head up and gave his love to those who needed it. I definitely had a soft spot for him.

• Ume was the kind of friend everyone needs. She was loyal and would probably help you hide the body if you needed her to, because that was the kind of friend she was.

Overall: A heartbreaking tale of grief, loss, and the need to heal.