Pages: 288
Received: Borrowed from Michele at Just a Lil' Lost
Release Date: August 01, 2012
Buy From Amazon.ca / Buy From Chapters.ca
Goodreads Synopsis:
“My life begins at the Y…” so starts Shannon’s story, a newborn baby dumped at the doors of the local YMCA. Bounced between foster homes, Shannon longs to uncover her roots. Where is she from? Who is her mother? And why would she abandon Shannon on the day she was born?
Release Date: August 01, 2012
Buy From Amazon.ca / Buy From Chapters.ca
Goodreads Synopsis:
“My life begins at the Y…” so starts Shannon’s story, a newborn baby dumped at the doors of the local YMCA. Bounced between foster homes, Shannon longs to uncover her roots. Where is she from? Who is her mother? And why would she abandon Shannon on the day she was born?
The answers lie in the heartbreaking tale of her mother’s
family, and their flawed and desperate fate. Through Marjorie Celona’s intimate
observations and quirky wit, present and past converge to shape a unique and
lasting story of identity and inheritance. A novel that asks us to consider the
“why” of our lives, even as it reveals that the answer isn’t always clear.
My Review:
Everyone has been talking about this book lately and I needed to know why. When a fellow blogger and great friend Michele wrote her review and mentioned that it reminded her a little of THE LOVELY BONES I knew this was one book I had to read and she graciously lent it to me.
The story begins with Shannon being left at the doors of the YMCA and from there readers follow her through her life in foster care. Celona writes in the voice of Shannon, but it is more of an all seeing voice, the chapters go back and forth from Shannon's life in the present to her mother's life right before giving birth to Shannon and leaving her at the YMCA. I can see how the book is reminiscent of THE LOVELY BONES with the idea of the narrator being the voice of a child and is seeing everything that is happening, I really enjoyed this kind of narration, it is an interesting way to tell a story.
This is one book that will be a tough story for people to read because of the issues that are dealt with. I found myself needing to put the book down at times to compose myself because everything was so emotional, and then at times I was just so shocked at what some of the characters were doing.
This story was about Shannon trying to find herself amongst everything that has happened, she visits her past to see how that has affected her future. This is a story that really teaches us about family and how it's not always the people that gave birth to you that are your family. I love the moment in the book when Shannon realizes who her family really is.
The characters were interesting, I enjoyed following Shannon's story and I understand why she goes through the motions of rebelling so much with her family. This is one book that I will suggest to all my friends to read because it is such a powerful book.
Everyone has been talking about this book lately and I needed to know why. When a fellow blogger and great friend Michele wrote her review and mentioned that it reminded her a little of THE LOVELY BONES I knew this was one book I had to read and she graciously lent it to me.
The story begins with Shannon being left at the doors of the YMCA and from there readers follow her through her life in foster care. Celona writes in the voice of Shannon, but it is more of an all seeing voice, the chapters go back and forth from Shannon's life in the present to her mother's life right before giving birth to Shannon and leaving her at the YMCA. I can see how the book is reminiscent of THE LOVELY BONES with the idea of the narrator being the voice of a child and is seeing everything that is happening, I really enjoyed this kind of narration, it is an interesting way to tell a story.
This is one book that will be a tough story for people to read because of the issues that are dealt with. I found myself needing to put the book down at times to compose myself because everything was so emotional, and then at times I was just so shocked at what some of the characters were doing.
This story was about Shannon trying to find herself amongst everything that has happened, she visits her past to see how that has affected her future. This is a story that really teaches us about family and how it's not always the people that gave birth to you that are your family. I love the moment in the book when Shannon realizes who her family really is.
The characters were interesting, I enjoyed following Shannon's story and I understand why she goes through the motions of rebelling so much with her family. This is one book that I will suggest to all my friends to read because it is such a powerful book.
Great review Andrea and I'm so happy to share it with you! :) You're right, there was so much emotion and anguish in so many moments!
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