There are three little Connellys, Geraldine, Eddie and Tara. They made up the family unit, such as it was. Geraldine is the oldest, 19 when their father vanished, abandoning them. She was old enough to keep her siblings from the horrors of foster care. Just before vanishing, their father caused an accident in a stolen car with Eddie in the car that left Eddie with a traumatic brain injury, changing Eddie's life forever. Tara was just 13 then. When she was 6, their mother died. She had been sick for a while and Geraldine had been doing the household and mothering things their mother could no longer do. These children needed therapy, which they did not get.
We first meet Tara at 30 as she is leaving prison. She used to be an art teacher in the local school district, but an 18 month sentence for drug transporting has put an end to that. She knows finding a new job and rebuilding her life will be difficult. Fortunately, her family still lives in the house they grew up in. It isn't much, but it's theirs.
The policemen who arrested Tara are still after the drug dealer who owned the drugs Tara was moving. The senior policeman, Hank, believed Tara was running the drugs because the drug dealer was her boyfriend. He also believed that was why she wouldn't give them information so they could throw the dealer in jail. Hank believed that so hard, he followed Tara around.
Tara and Geraldine butted heads over the rules Geraldine followed so rigidly. Geraldine finally told her that if Tara made a mistake, it usually meant talking to the principal and doing some detention. If Geraldine made a mistake, it meant bills not being paid, no food in the house, or the county threatening to take the younger children away. At another point, Eddie tells Tara that she has the tendency to decide what needs to be done to fix another's problems without any input from the other person. He's talking about Tara's trip to jail, but it applies to most of Tara's actions.
This book is the kind of family drama/literary fiction I generally don't care for. But I loved this book. It was written by the author of We Are the Brennans, another book I loved. There is even a little wave back to that book. There is also a gentle romance, which Tara needs. I recommend this book to you.
I read a copy of this book for this review on Netgalley, offered to me by the publisher.
We first meet Tara at 30 as she is leaving prison. She used to be an art teacher in the local school district, but an 18 month sentence for drug transporting has put an end to that. She knows finding a new job and rebuilding her life will be difficult. Fortunately, her family still lives in the house they grew up in. It isn't much, but it's theirs.
The policemen who arrested Tara are still after the drug dealer who owned the drugs Tara was moving. The senior policeman, Hank, believed Tara was running the drugs because the drug dealer was her boyfriend. He also believed that was why she wouldn't give them information so they could throw the dealer in jail. Hank believed that so hard, he followed Tara around.
Tara and Geraldine butted heads over the rules Geraldine followed so rigidly. Geraldine finally told her that if Tara made a mistake, it usually meant talking to the principal and doing some detention. If Geraldine made a mistake, it meant bills not being paid, no food in the house, or the county threatening to take the younger children away. At another point, Eddie tells Tara that she has the tendency to decide what needs to be done to fix another's problems without any input from the other person. He's talking about Tara's trip to jail, but it applies to most of Tara's actions.
This book is the kind of family drama/literary fiction I generally don't care for. But I loved this book. It was written by the author of We Are the Brennans, another book I loved. There is even a little wave back to that book. There is also a gentle romance, which Tara needs. I recommend this book to you.
I read a copy of this book for this review on Netgalley, offered to me by the publisher.