Marlena by Julie Buntan
4 stars
This novel turned out not be at all what I expected. It’s not so much about a death but instead about a small rural town and how pervasive drugs are in areas where poverty and boredom are strife. The main character, Cat, moves to a small town in upper Michigan midway through high school. Once a high achiever in a ritzy private academy, she now feels adrift after her parents divorce. Marlena lives in a converted barn steps away from her house, and her life become inextricably intertwined with the troubled girl. The friendship between the two girls is captures incredibly well and even while Cat feels as if she knows Marlena so well, she also realizes there are issues Marlena deals with in which maybe she shouldn’t turn a blind eye. I don’t think the sections following an adult Cat were written quite as well which affected the flow of the novel, but overall this is a haunting and realistic novel. I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment