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Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Murder
Moderate: Medical content, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy
I have to give Paulette Kennedy props for her almost addictive writing style. With every chapter, I had to know what was going to happen until I reached the end. I was so enraptured with Loretta and her journey of motherhood and womanhood in the 1950s that I found myself forgetting about the mystery that was happening until I got hit in the face with new information. The combination of historical fiction and horror, along with the addition of a mystery element, has worked very well for the book.
The main reason I had to dock points from this book is that some things, especially in the last hundred pages or so, felt too easy.
Despite this one gripe, I did find myself entertained by Paulette Kennedy's novel, and I loved the reason she wrote it. Beyond the reasons why I love a book, I love it when authors love their books, and you can tell Kennedy loved this book.
"It was time to find out who she really was. To take the cold, bracing plunge into reality, and come out the other side a changed woman. The woman she was meant to be."
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Alcohol
Minor: Abortion
"If you could go back to a previous era, what era would that be?"
No thank you, I am good.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault
Moderate: Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Gaslighting
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting
Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Pregnancy
Minor: Cancer, Gun violence, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Stalking, Abortion
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting
Moderate: Self harm, Grief, Abandonment
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Car accident, Alcohol
Kennedy's book has shades of Shirley Jackson and is set in a house that feels like Daphne du Maurier's Manderley, if it were scaled down to match middle-class budgets and midcentury American sensibilities.
The story follows Mrs. Loretta Davenport, wife of Mr. Peter Davenport, a Pentecostal minister and professor at a nearby Bible college. She is the doting mother to two charming children and, while she isn't a perfect June Cleaver housewife, she tries to be. She tries to WANT to be.
After a bout of illness, Loretta is struck by a dark vision that seems to be showing her glimpses of what happened to a local girl who recently went missing
She thinks her new abilities may be a gift from God. Peter thinks they're the work of the Devil
Loretta's growing commitment to exploring her gifts and learning what happened to the missing girl drives a wedge between her and Peter and brings her to the office of Dr. Curtis Hansen, parapsychologist, as she gets swept up in her search to find the truth about the dark secrets buried in her Missouri town
As is the case in a lot of historical horror, there are ghosts, but the ghosts aren't the thing that brings the terror
Instead, I was horrified by the state of 1950s mental healthcare, the patriarchal oppression in their religious community, and the prison that was midcentury American marriage
Loretta's legal personhood, and that of nearly every other female character in the book, is constrained by the whims of her husband, and a selfish or deceitful husband can be a truly cruel jailer
I loved every single thing about this book, but make no mistake: it was an emotional wrecking ball
It deals with some deeply sensitive subject matter, so proceed with caution if SA, DV, pregnancy/loss, misogyny, or institutionalization are sensitive subjects for you
I personally had to set the book aside a few times, when my own life stresses made the fictional abuses within the book feel too big. But it was so worth it to pick it back up. Loretta will stick with me for a long time, and this book has landed on my list of great works of modern American gothic.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, Death of parent
Moderate: Child death, Fatphobia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Pregnancy
Minor: Blood
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Blood
Minor: Cursing, Infertility, Abortion