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A review by cyntismiles
The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel
Did not finish book. Stopped at 55%.
I feel like I could have finished this book but life is short and there are lots of books I want to read!
I picked it up because the blurb sounded like this would be "'Preacher's Daughter' from Ethel Cain's cousin's perspective" which was very intriguing to me. It was definitely not that, don't recommend picking this up for those reasons. Just listen to "Preacher's Daughter" again instead.
I really could not stand how much of the book was about Lane and Cooper's relationship. I understand why Lane is characterized the way she is but I found her very grating. The book has a lot of sex but is not sexy (don't wish it was sexy though, just think that's a good descriptor).
The story felt very obvious to me and it was kind of frustrating for the characters to not see it. The whole book I kept saying "I see the writing on the walls!". Also, the way that Allegra gives us clues from afar was a real obvious plot device to me. It felt very contrived and very dumb. It made her feel fictional. Since I decided to DNF this, I looked up spoilers and would like to say I was absolutely right on all accounts(Her grandfather is actually her dad, grandma killed Allegra ofc!, grandpa/dad was grooming her, Allegra is 4 sure dead) . The only thing I didn't get clarity on is if the miscarriage in the book was an abortion (I suspect it was). But Lane is a bit clueless so I wonder if she ever questioned it.
I also didn't love the characterization of the town because it was really hammered home that the people who lived there were dumb and it was so behind the times. I understand this may have been Lane's interpretation but it felt very weird and more about the book than Lane? Like it was trying to insinuate that only fucked up things happen in fucked up little towns that aren't here in the 21st century! I don't think the author was trying to say that but that was the vibe I was feeling. I know that small towns can be a mess but tbh so can anywhere. Good people can live anywhere just like bad people can live anywhere!
I think this book may do a good job of showing how incest may differ from what people outside the situation perceive it to be and the way groomed individuals may feel about their groomer (although it is gross and not good). It just didn't seem to actually want to be about that? The book felt like "The story of why Lane is so messed up with her own things + her family has weird incest secrets don't mind that!". I appreciate the author attempting to write about this from an outsider-ish perspective (Lane) vs the victim/survivor of the abuse (Allegra) but I think there are books that do this kind of thing better. In the end, I felt that the incest thing was such a plot device to shock the reader and more of the setting than something the author wanted to actually deal with.
I picked it up because the blurb sounded like this would be "'Preacher's Daughter' from Ethel Cain's cousin's perspective" which was very intriguing to me. It was definitely not that, don't recommend picking this up for those reasons. Just listen to "Preacher's Daughter" again instead.
I really could not stand how much of the book was about Lane and Cooper's relationship. I understand why Lane is characterized the way she is but I found her very grating. The book has a lot of sex but is not sexy (don't wish it was sexy though, just think that's a good descriptor).
The story felt very obvious to me and it was kind of frustrating for the characters to not see it. The whole book I kept saying "I see the writing on the walls!". Also, the way that Allegra gives us clues from afar was a real obvious plot device to me. It felt very contrived and very dumb. It made her feel fictional. Since I decided to DNF this, I looked up spoilers and would like to say I was absolutely right on all accounts
I also didn't love the characterization of the town because it was really hammered home that the people who lived there were dumb and it was so behind the times. I understand this may have been Lane's interpretation but it felt very weird and more about the book than Lane? Like it was trying to insinuate that only fucked up things happen in fucked up little towns that aren't here in the 21st century! I don't think the author was trying to say that but that was the vibe I was feeling. I know that small towns can be a mess but tbh so can anywhere. Good people can live anywhere just like bad people can live anywhere!
I think this book may do a good job of showing how incest may differ from what people outside the situation perceive it to be and the way groomed individuals may feel about their groomer (although it is gross and not good). It just didn't seem to actually want to be about that? The book felt like "The story of why Lane is so messed up with her own things + her family has weird incest secrets don't mind that!". I appreciate the author attempting to write about this from an outsider-ish perspective (Lane) vs the victim/survivor of the abuse (Allegra) but I think there are books that do this kind of thing better. In the end, I felt that the incest thing was such a plot device to shock the reader and more of the setting than something the author wanted to actually deal with.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, and Abortion