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franreads's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Coming of age, small-town America
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder
thecatladybooknook_penny's review
4.0
I didn't think this book was for me but I stuck it out because I was hopeful. Boy, did it surprise me!! I struggled my way through the first Part of the book (it's told in 3 parts) and by the time I started Part 2, I wasn't wanting to put it down.
This is the story of four middle school aged kids in a small midwest town in the 1970s who find a dead body near their favorite hideout and swimming hole. They decide to try to figure out who killed the girl and bring some peace to the dead girl's family. They search over the crime scene after the police have finished and follow dog tracks where they accidently overhear a conversation that helps them figure out who killed the girl. But being in a small, very corrupt town leaves them with nowhere to turn for help.
What they uncover and what it's at the bottom of all of this it's just heartbreaking.
This is the story of four middle school aged kids in a small midwest town in the 1970s who find a dead body near their favorite hideout and swimming hole. They decide to try to figure out who killed the girl and bring some peace to the dead girl's family. They search over the crime scene after the police have finished and follow dog tracks where they accidently overhear a conversation that helps them figure out who killed the girl. But being in a small, very corrupt town leaves them with nowhere to turn for help.
What they uncover and what it's at the bottom of all of this it's just heartbreaking.
bookbint's review
5.0
Set over 3 long hot summer from 1971 in a small American town this book is so utterly addictive I could not put it down.
Told from young 13 yr old Johnny Royal's view as the sanctuary of his younger sister and two best friends' clubhouse becomes the area where a girls body is found by the children.
Like a car crash in slow motion you know something is bad in the town, each year sees the children's home life become worse. Indeed his sister Jenny is under the impression their mother will kill her soon. Johnny loves his Momma and wonders why they rile each other up so. His best friend Rudy gets a beating but when they all meet up nothing can touch them, that is why they know they are the only ones who can solve the murder.
The characters are so well written, like reading Stephen King's The Body {Stand by Me} Johnny's view is naïve and innocent as he hopes the only Pa he trusts can save them.
This book devastated me. I got so emotionally involved the children were my best friends, the long hot summers ones I could picture having, I couldn't believe what Lewis put them all through but couldn't look away, I had to know, like Johnny was it as bad as it was going to get?
Just pick this up, one for you one for your friend to discuss and spread the word. The most unputdownable book this summer - can I say year?- is here.
Thank you so much HarperCollins for the proof read
Told from young 13 yr old Johnny Royal's view as the sanctuary of his younger sister and two best friends' clubhouse becomes the area where a girls body is found by the children.
Like a car crash in slow motion you know something is bad in the town, each year sees the children's home life become worse. Indeed his sister Jenny is under the impression their mother will kill her soon. Johnny loves his Momma and wonders why they rile each other up so. His best friend Rudy gets a beating but when they all meet up nothing can touch them, that is why they know they are the only ones who can solve the murder.
The characters are so well written, like reading Stephen King's The Body {Stand by Me} Johnny's view is naïve and innocent as he hopes the only Pa he trusts can save them.
This book devastated me. I got so emotionally involved the children were my best friends, the long hot summers ones I could picture having, I couldn't believe what Lewis put them all through but couldn't look away, I had to know, like Johnny was it as bad as it was going to get?
Just pick this up, one for you one for your friend to discuss and spread the word. The most unputdownable book this summer - can I say year?- is here.
Thank you so much HarperCollins for the proof read
keeperofpages's review
5.0
Small town mysteries are hugely appealing to me, and Larson is the perfect example of why. In this close-knit community, tensions are running high, the atmosphere is stifling, the unrest, this community could implode at any minute. And the heatwave added to the atmosphere, made it unbearable, put everyone on edge, and sooner or later somethings got to give….
More than the mystery, this novel was a coming-of-age for our main quartet. An exploration of familial relationships, the highs and the lows. Bitter Sun breathes life into the phrase ‘friends are the family you get to choose for yourself’. This novel is narrated by John, it was him and his sister, Jenny, who I was most invested in; the complexities they faced in their young lives, the direction their lives took – wow, Lewis can pen a story!
This novel has darkness at its centre, and as the story progresses, this darkness spills out. John, Jenny, Gloria and Rudy try to contain it, but they’re just children, and sometimes things just have to run their course. There are two things I said about this author’s previous novel, The Wolf Road, and I think both apply here! One: a dark tale that is beautifully written. Two: Have you ever wanted to jump into a fictional world and rescue a character, to take away their pain, and offer them the love and care they so clearly need?
Ragland did an amazing job narrating this novel, he put me in the heart of 1971 Larson, and I couldn’t leave until the book ended. Fans of literary [crime] fiction, and coming-of-age tales, you need this novel in your life. The emotion, the heartbreak, the mystery, the lies, the secrets, the heat, the devastation, the tension, the suspense – this novel has it all. There’s so much in this novel, so many relationships and events I could elaborate on, so much I want to say, but I’ll end this review here, because you need to discover this story for yourself, visit Larson and hear it all first-hand!
More than the mystery, this novel was a coming-of-age for our main quartet. An exploration of familial relationships, the highs and the lows. Bitter Sun breathes life into the phrase ‘friends are the family you get to choose for yourself’. This novel is narrated by John, it was him and his sister, Jenny, who I was most invested in; the complexities they faced in their young lives, the direction their lives took – wow, Lewis can pen a story!
This novel has darkness at its centre, and as the story progresses, this darkness spills out. John, Jenny, Gloria and Rudy try to contain it, but they’re just children, and sometimes things just have to run their course. There are two things I said about this author’s previous novel, The Wolf Road, and I think both apply here! One: a dark tale that is beautifully written. Two: Have you ever wanted to jump into a fictional world and rescue a character, to take away their pain, and offer them the love and care they so clearly need?
Ragland did an amazing job narrating this novel, he put me in the heart of 1971 Larson, and I couldn’t leave until the book ended. Fans of literary [crime] fiction, and coming-of-age tales, you need this novel in your life. The emotion, the heartbreak, the mystery, the lies, the secrets, the heat, the devastation, the tension, the suspense – this novel has it all. There’s so much in this novel, so many relationships and events I could elaborate on, so much I want to say, but I’ll end this review here, because you need to discover this story for yourself, visit Larson and hear it all first-hand!
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