Amy Jo Burns brings a working-class family alive in Mercury.
This book was excellent on audio, narrated by Maria Liatis. I had a print copy on hand but kept switching to the audio!
The book starts off in 1990, when teenager Marley and her hardworking mom are new to town. I really liked the opening: "Waylon Joseph crouched behind Mercury's ballfield bleachers on the south end of town, smoking a cigarette and hiding from his wife."
There's a discovery early on, but the reader doesn't get all the details until later in the book. Burns kept me turning the pages by introducing several intriguing plot points.
One other thing I really liked about this one is that it's not trite. Things don't all conveniently come together for everyone. It's gritty and real, and brought to mind my own family. And I'll feel for matriarch Elise (who deserved better/more) for a long time.
This book was excellent on audio, narrated by Maria Liatis. I had a print copy on hand but kept switching to the audio!
The book starts off in 1990, when teenager Marley and her hardworking mom are new to town. I really liked the opening: "Waylon Joseph crouched behind Mercury's ballfield bleachers on the south end of town, smoking a cigarette and hiding from his wife."
There's a discovery early on, but the reader doesn't get all the details until later in the book. Burns kept me turning the pages by introducing several intriguing plot points.
One other thing I really liked about this one is that it's not trite. Things don't all conveniently come together for everyone. It's gritty and real, and brought to mind my own family. And I'll feel for matriarch Elise (who deserved better/more) for a long time.