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A review by laughlinesandliterature
The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos
4.0
* I received this book from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review*
This novel surprised me, and that can be a difficult thing to do. It wasn’t just that I had no idea where Im’s father was, but that the author’s writing style was powerful especially for a debut novel. I felt absolutely connected to Imogene, and desperately wanted to find out the truth right along with her. I couldn’t put this book down and finished it in just a few hours. This story was layered and complex, on the surface it is a mystery. Where is Imogene’s father? The twists and turns and ruts that Imogene falls into made it a first class mystery. It was also a moving tale of loss and mental illness, but was spun in such a way that there was nothing to pity in these characters. They were simply human as all of us are, and part of their flaws were battling themselves.
This story took place spread across many different cities in Massachusetts, and reading about Im figuring out how to find her father had me breathless at times. Every single character in this book grows in some way by the end of it. There was no good or bad in this book this was simply people struggling every day, and sometimes winning and sometimes losing. The emotions that this story brought to the surface were handled with care and sensitivity. I think everyone can learn something about themselves by reading this book, and I would give it 4 out of 5 stars.
“Whether it’s dead or alive, we can’t change the past.”
*This review was first posted to Moonlight Gleam Reviews http://moonlightgleam.com/2016/06/the-mystery-of-hollow-places-by-rebecca-podos.html*
This novel surprised me, and that can be a difficult thing to do. It wasn’t just that I had no idea where Im’s father was, but that the author’s writing style was powerful especially for a debut novel. I felt absolutely connected to Imogene, and desperately wanted to find out the truth right along with her. I couldn’t put this book down and finished it in just a few hours. This story was layered and complex, on the surface it is a mystery. Where is Imogene’s father? The twists and turns and ruts that Imogene falls into made it a first class mystery. It was also a moving tale of loss and mental illness, but was spun in such a way that there was nothing to pity in these characters. They were simply human as all of us are, and part of their flaws were battling themselves.
This story took place spread across many different cities in Massachusetts, and reading about Im figuring out how to find her father had me breathless at times. Every single character in this book grows in some way by the end of it. There was no good or bad in this book this was simply people struggling every day, and sometimes winning and sometimes losing. The emotions that this story brought to the surface were handled with care and sensitivity. I think everyone can learn something about themselves by reading this book, and I would give it 4 out of 5 stars.
“Whether it’s dead or alive, we can’t change the past.”
*This review was first posted to Moonlight Gleam Reviews http://moonlightgleam.com/2016/06/the-mystery-of-hollow-places-by-rebecca-podos.html*