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jess_mango's review
4.0
Valentines day in the mid-1970's in Odessa, TX. 14-year old Gloria is bored out of her mind hanging out at a fast food place when she agrees to take a ride with Dale. Dale ends up brutally raping Gloria in his pick-up truck on an empty oil field. While Dale is sleeping, Gloria frantically gathers what she can find of her ruined clothing and makes her way to a farmhouse she sees in the distance. There a housewife lets her in and fends off Dale when he shows up.
This story hops through the perspectives of a handful of characters, each with their own opinion on the reported crime. We a lot of skepticism and backlash due to the fact that Gloria is of Mexican descent.
This story hops through the perspectives of a handful of characters, each with their own opinion on the reported crime. We a lot of skepticism and backlash due to the fact that Gloria is of Mexican descent.
driaslibrary's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jessica94's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
pepperjl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
em_callan's review
4.0
I feel like Glory’s story did get overshadowed by the rest of the women’s stories and I wish they talked more about the trial and made that a bigger part of the plot. Maybe I just have an issue with white people writing characters of color and trying to show their struggles? Hard to seem genuine when that happens.
marinaemoore's review against another edition
5.0
This is, sincerely, one of the most beautifully-written books I’ve ever read. Set in Odessa, Texas in the 70s, this book shows how a brutal crime impacts the women of the town.
This book is gritty, and isn’t one of those books where the author neatly wraps everything up with a bow.
This book is gritty, and isn’t one of those books where the author neatly wraps everything up with a bow.
thephdivabooks's review
5.0
Haunting and exquisite, this is the sort of book that carried a heavy stillness when I read it, where nothing else seemed to exist besides me and the story I was reading.
This book is so beautifully written, Elizabeth Wetmore is truly talented and brings a depth and authenticity to the heavy topics dealt with in this story. It is also a story that I’m particularly honored to feature on International Women’s Day, being a book filled with incredible women who make small and large actions to support other women, even at the expense of themselves.
Beginning with the tragic and evocative aftermath of a sexual assault told to us by the 14-year old victim and survivor Gloria Ramirez, Valentine is clearly marked as no ordinary book. Avoiding the graphic elements of the assault, Wetmore instead describes the aftermath through the small elements that allow this incredibly brave and vulnerable young woman to ground herself and survive the attack. The feeling of the sandy dirt, the view across the flat landscape, the sight of her own foot. These solid, objective elements let her know that she is still present, despite the disassociation that she may have experienced.
When Gloria shows up on the porch of Mary Rose’s ranch on the morning after Valentine’s Day, Mary Rose is far along in her pregnancy and has her own daughter to protect. And yet, Mary Rose is instantly one of the most captivating characters of the novel, noting that she should turn this unknown girl away to protect herself and her family—it’s what her husband would want her to do—and yet Mary Rose is no ordinary woman. She has a strength to fight back that she allowed to go dormant for so long.
As each chapter progresses, other women enter the narrative. There is Corrine, who has suffered her own hard times. And there is Debra Ann and Karla, who are young but not weak. Each woman (and girl) have their own story to tell. They all revolve around the toxic masculinity of the town they live in, and the women who stand up suffer some severe consequences. The unapologetic racism and sexism are prevalent in the town of Odessa, and I loved the way the chain of rebellion—beginning with Gloria merely surviving and then Mary Rose not allowing Goria’s attacker in the house—picked up momentum through the book. Each woman whose story intertwines with Goria’s makes the thread stronger, until there is power in the women pushing back against the much stronger patriarchy of the town of Odessa.
And yet there is the unavoidable heaviness to a story like this and sadness. This is not a fairy tale that Elizabeth Wetmore has crafted. This is a story that was so authentic feeling, that I actually forgot that it isn’t non-fiction. The descriptive language is captivating, and the narrative is woven together so delicately as if spun from glass. Beautiful, haunting, and unforgettable.
Thank you to the team at Harper Books for my copy. Opinions are my own.
This book is so beautifully written, Elizabeth Wetmore is truly talented and brings a depth and authenticity to the heavy topics dealt with in this story. It is also a story that I’m particularly honored to feature on International Women’s Day, being a book filled with incredible women who make small and large actions to support other women, even at the expense of themselves.
Beginning with the tragic and evocative aftermath of a sexual assault told to us by the 14-year old victim and survivor Gloria Ramirez, Valentine is clearly marked as no ordinary book. Avoiding the graphic elements of the assault, Wetmore instead describes the aftermath through the small elements that allow this incredibly brave and vulnerable young woman to ground herself and survive the attack. The feeling of the sandy dirt, the view across the flat landscape, the sight of her own foot. These solid, objective elements let her know that she is still present, despite the disassociation that she may have experienced.
When Gloria shows up on the porch of Mary Rose’s ranch on the morning after Valentine’s Day, Mary Rose is far along in her pregnancy and has her own daughter to protect. And yet, Mary Rose is instantly one of the most captivating characters of the novel, noting that she should turn this unknown girl away to protect herself and her family—it’s what her husband would want her to do—and yet Mary Rose is no ordinary woman. She has a strength to fight back that she allowed to go dormant for so long.
As each chapter progresses, other women enter the narrative. There is Corrine, who has suffered her own hard times. And there is Debra Ann and Karla, who are young but not weak. Each woman (and girl) have their own story to tell. They all revolve around the toxic masculinity of the town they live in, and the women who stand up suffer some severe consequences. The unapologetic racism and sexism are prevalent in the town of Odessa, and I loved the way the chain of rebellion—beginning with Gloria merely surviving and then Mary Rose not allowing Goria’s attacker in the house—picked up momentum through the book. Each woman whose story intertwines with Goria’s makes the thread stronger, until there is power in the women pushing back against the much stronger patriarchy of the town of Odessa.
And yet there is the unavoidable heaviness to a story like this and sadness. This is not a fairy tale that Elizabeth Wetmore has crafted. This is a story that was so authentic feeling, that I actually forgot that it isn’t non-fiction. The descriptive language is captivating, and the narrative is woven together so delicately as if spun from glass. Beautiful, haunting, and unforgettable.
Thank you to the team at Harper Books for my copy. Opinions are my own.
ecconway's review
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0