[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Atria Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
Brian and Ann adopted Sky when she was a baby. Abandoned at the fire station. Discovered by Ann. They fell in love with her, and she was theirs from that moment until they were both killed in the car accident ten years later.
Leo and Xavier had been married about a year when they got the call about the accident. Brian and Ann’s will named Leo guardian. Leo and Xavier are trying to make this huge shift in their lives – and it’s not working.
Leo is grateful for Maggie who lives nearby and helps with Sky when he has to work. School is done for the summer, and her husband is hardly around. She’s happy to pitch in and feel useful.
Sky is struggling with the changes in her life. She likes Leo just fine but when Xavier comes for the weekends, everything gets tense and awkward. Ann’s mother wants to see Sky, but she doesn’t really know her grandmother. Why is she showing up now? Why were she and Ann estranged in the first place?
There’s someone else on the island who’s watching Sky, too. She’s looking for resolution for things in her past before it’s too late.
Review
This is a fascinating look at this neighborhood of people, negotiating significant life changes while also responding to the loss of Sky’s parents. I loved how all of the pieces came together in the end.
Sky’s story is central. I don’t know if she’s in shock or what, but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of emotion over the death of her parents. Sure, things at home had been weird for the last couple years. But it felt like Sky was a new adoptee who wasn’t all that attached yet when her parents died. Instead, she has been with them her whole life. I expected a lot more expressions of grief, even if they came out sideways. The reader sees her struggling to know where her footing is at home with Leo and his husband, and she responds to that with some acting out. But otherwise there was an emotional distance that felt off to me. If it was intentional to the story, one of the adults should have seen it and flagged it as something they should address, but I didn’t see anything like that.
The adults care for Sky well while dealing with personal, adult matters – loss, infidelity, bigotry, and family issues. I was pleased by the balance in the story. I never felt like we weren’t focusing on the right parts of the story. It was all woven together so well.
I enjoyed all of the characters. Well, Agnes was infuriating much of the time. I would have read 10 more chapters about where things go after the end of the novel. I cared about these people and their lives and the changes they were trying to make for the future. Fans of contemporary fiction with great characters as well as fans of ensemble stories should be sure to check this one out! You can read about other books by this author here. (LGBTQ+, gaslighting)