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A review by silencia167
The Last Good Day of the Year by Jessica Warman
4.0
Read this review and more on my blog, The Reality of Books: https://therealityofbooks.wordpress.com/
Jessica Warman’s The Last Good Day of the Year opens in the first moments of the new year, 1986, as seven-year-old Sam and her best friend Remy watch a man break into their home and take Sam’s sister, Turtle, from her sleeping bag. Both children are to scared to stop the man, but they later claim to have recognized him as the boyfriend of Sam’s sister, Gretchen. Ten years later, Sam’s family is low on money and forced to return to the childhood home where Turtle disappeared. Being back in the house causes Sam to start remembering things, and she begins to question just what, exactly, actually happened to Turtle.
The plot of this reminded me of a combination of Jon Benet Ramsey and Elizabeth Smart’s cases. It seemed to be a realistic breakdown of what happens to a family when a child is kidnapped, from Remy being so scared that he wet himself in his sleeping bag to Sam’s mother throwing up on the floor and not cleaning it up for weeks. Sam’s parents have a “replacement child,” Hannah, but she doesn’t fill any of the holes they thought she would—yet another realistic detail. Sam’s family seems to just move forward, but they never really connect again in the absence of Turtle.
The best written character in this is Sam’s mother. In the aftermath of losing Turtle, she loses a large sense of who she is as a mother. She strikes out at her oldest daughter, and then goes on to have another daughter and get heavily involved in that daughter’s life—beauty pageant’s, dance classes, etc. Sam’s mom throws herself into the life of Hannah in order to give Hannah everything that she couldn’t give Turtle, and she is unable to admit to herself that she will never be able to make up for what happened to Turtle because it is not make-upable.
Sam is okay for me. She’s not a very reliable narrator, for the obvious reason that much of the story takes place when she is a child. However, her feelings are written well; her grief about not doing anything to stop the man from taking Turtle is apparent in even the smallest things. Her scenes with Hannah are especially powerful.
The insertions of pages from Forty Eight Minutes of Doubt didn’t really work for me. They generally contained nameless people talking about more nameless people; I really had to work to figure out who was who and what was happening, which I felt like I needed to do because the information appeared to be important.
The ending left me a bit hollow, because it was so rushed. I had a feeling that it was what was coming, but it happened in a few short pages and then was over. I wanted more pay off, both for myself and the characters. Though the fact that the family does NOT get that pay off is also realistic. But still. I wanted the closure and didn’t get it.
This book is a solid mix of mystery and thriller that will keep the reader guessing, though it has a stronger start than finish. 3.5 stars from me.
**I received The Last Good Day of the Year as an ARC from Netgalley. I was not paid to write this review. The Last Good Day of the Year is expected for publication May 19th, 2015, by Bloomsbury USA Children’s.
Jessica Warman’s The Last Good Day of the Year opens in the first moments of the new year, 1986, as seven-year-old Sam and her best friend Remy watch a man break into their home and take Sam’s sister, Turtle, from her sleeping bag. Both children are to scared to stop the man, but they later claim to have recognized him as the boyfriend of Sam’s sister, Gretchen. Ten years later, Sam’s family is low on money and forced to return to the childhood home where Turtle disappeared. Being back in the house causes Sam to start remembering things, and she begins to question just what, exactly, actually happened to Turtle.
The plot of this reminded me of a combination of Jon Benet Ramsey and Elizabeth Smart’s cases. It seemed to be a realistic breakdown of what happens to a family when a child is kidnapped, from Remy being so scared that he wet himself in his sleeping bag to Sam’s mother throwing up on the floor and not cleaning it up for weeks. Sam’s parents have a “replacement child,” Hannah, but she doesn’t fill any of the holes they thought she would—yet another realistic detail. Sam’s family seems to just move forward, but they never really connect again in the absence of Turtle.
The best written character in this is Sam’s mother. In the aftermath of losing Turtle, she loses a large sense of who she is as a mother. She strikes out at her oldest daughter, and then goes on to have another daughter and get heavily involved in that daughter’s life—beauty pageant’s, dance classes, etc. Sam’s mom throws herself into the life of Hannah in order to give Hannah everything that she couldn’t give Turtle, and she is unable to admit to herself that she will never be able to make up for what happened to Turtle because it is not make-upable.
Sam is okay for me. She’s not a very reliable narrator, for the obvious reason that much of the story takes place when she is a child. However, her feelings are written well; her grief about not doing anything to stop the man from taking Turtle is apparent in even the smallest things. Her scenes with Hannah are especially powerful.
The insertions of pages from Forty Eight Minutes of Doubt didn’t really work for me. They generally contained nameless people talking about more nameless people; I really had to work to figure out who was who and what was happening, which I felt like I needed to do because the information appeared to be important.
The ending left me a bit hollow, because it was so rushed. I had a feeling that it was what was coming, but it happened in a few short pages and then was over. I wanted more pay off, both for myself and the characters. Though the fact that the family does NOT get that pay off is also realistic. But still. I wanted the closure and didn’t get it.
This book is a solid mix of mystery and thriller that will keep the reader guessing, though it has a stronger start than finish. 3.5 stars from me.
**I received The Last Good Day of the Year as an ARC from Netgalley. I was not paid to write this review. The Last Good Day of the Year is expected for publication May 19th, 2015, by Bloomsbury USA Children’s.