Published by Insomniac PressDelible is a haunting story which is shared with the reader by three women. A grandmother, a mother, and a daughter. The main character Melora Sprague, or Lora to those around her, begins the journey by sharing memories of playing with her sister Melissa, known to everyone as Mel. Their ages are seperated by less than a year and their close bond is clear from the start.
Both girls have much to deal with, including the fact that their father is not in their lives. Whenever they ask their mother about him, she becomes very cagey and the only detail they have really been given is that he works at the jail.
At the age of 16, Melissa is missing. The police are writing it off as running away. After all, it isn't the first time it has happened. The fact that she also tried to kill herself a short time before doesn't help either. Throughout the pages, Lora reveals a great deal about her sister and why she feels Mel didn't simply run away. Lora believes that Mel was taken, and the fact that she believes the responsible person isn't a stranger, leads her to look at those around her with distrust and doubt.
While most of the book is written from Lora's view, there are chapters which are written from the view of their mother Karin, and their grandmother Celia. Regardless of the views changing, the emotion and passion remain consistent throughout. There is also a tension as the family drift through the years, waiting for any clue or sign of what really happened.
The book is is written wonderfully and not many books can pull off such a mix of darkness, angst, intimacy and hope. The reader can't help but be drawn in as Lora tries to make sense of things while also trying desperately to hold on to the memory of her sister. I especially liked that within the unfolding story, we are treated to little pieces of Mel's life through the sharing of a personal letter from a friend, a book report on Lord of the Flies, and journal entries. I also liked that this is one of those books where you can't guess where the story is going as it leads you in many directions at once. Every new development is a surprise.
It's a wonderful novel which I know I will read again.
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1 comment:
I just want to share that Anne Stone teaches at my university :) She talked about her book in one of my classes and it really helped in understanding why she wrote the book the way it is (open ending, unresolved, etc.) One of the main reasons she said is that she doesn't want people to finish the book and then just forget about Melissa. She wants people to be haunted by Melissa's story and how it affected the people around her. Haunted in the sense that they will never look at a MISSING PERSON's poster the same again, in the sense that they will remember the pain Mel's family goes through.
Great review!
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