Tallulah de Longland,' she said slowly, letting all the Ls in my name loll about lazily in her mouth before passing judgement. 'That,' she announced, 'is a seriously glamorgeous name.' From the day Annabelle Andrews sashays into her classroom, Tallulah 'Lulu' de Longland is bewitched by Annabelle, by her family, and their sprawling, crumbling house tumbling down to the river. Their unlikely friendship intensifies through a secret language where they share confidences about their unusual mothers, first loves, and growing up in the small, coastal town of Juniper Bay. Their lives become as entwined as Annabelle's initials engraved beneath the de Longland kitchen table. But the euphoria of youth rarely lasts, and the implosion that destroys their friendship leaves lasting scars and a legacy of self-doubt that haunts Lulu into adulthood. Years later, Lulu is presented with a choice: remain the perpetual good girl who misses out, or finally step out from the shadows and do something extraordinary. And possibly unforgiveable. It's not how far you fall, but how high you bounce.
Did I like this book?
This is weird, but I really don't know! I'm feeling quite conflicted with this book. When I finished reading, my first thought was, "What was the point in that?" And honestly, for me there wasn't much of one. Basically this is a walk in Tallulah's shoes through most of her young life. We get glimpses into her mother's mental instability and a close up look at her friendships with Annabelle and Duncan. We are introduced to Annabelle's parents and become familiar with their eccentricities. We meet Tallulah's first love, Josh, and get to see how charming and utterly dickheadish he can be. There are some other characters, as well as an island and a dog, but mostly I just wanted to know where the heck this story was going. And in the end, I just wasn't emotionally connected with Tallulah enough to care.
Will you like this book?
I think this depends on your ability to connect with Tallulah. The writing is excellent, and some of the secondary characters are memorable, but overall, if you don't fall in love with Tallulah, you'll probably feel the same way I did, because she really carries the whole book on her shoulders.
Will I read more by this author?
Possibly. Like I mentioned before, the writing is great, and that is the main element that will draw me to a particular author. I guess it will depend on whether the synopsis of future books by Whiting appeal to me.
My rating:
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