A review by suzannemseidel
The Longings of Wayward Girls by Karen Brown
2.0
I thought the book was kind of a snoozer. Which is interesting considering the subject matter – secret pen pals, missing children, affairs, and a suicide. Even with all of those components the story kind of dragged. Part of that was the person of Sadie. I didn’t like her or connect with her or feel sorry for her. I felt nothing for her. Not even annoyance or shock that she was leaving her family. Not even sympathy that she had lost a baby. I don’t know Craig at all so I felt nothing for him either. The only people I felt strong feelings for were Ray (was not a fan) and Francie, who quickly became the only character I was rooting for.
I don’t understand why Laura Loomis’s story was even included. One missing girl would’ve been enough and Laura’s disappearance had nothing to do with Francie’s or Clare’s or Sadie’s. It was just a free floating piece of information with oddly written check ins. Were those supposed to be newspaper reports? They sounded too personal to be newspaper reports. Those few paragraphs were weird.
I liked the time hops, going back and forth between Sadie’s childhood and adulthood, but I appreciate that kind of thing in any story. What I didn’t appreciate was when adult Sadie would flashback to something that happened when she was younger. Why not just include that in the portions of the story already designated to flashing back? It confused things for me.
Overall it was a compelling idea but in my opinion Karen Brown just didn’t stick the landing.
I don’t understand why Laura Loomis’s story was even included. One missing girl would’ve been enough and Laura’s disappearance had nothing to do with Francie’s or Clare’s or Sadie’s. It was just a free floating piece of information with oddly written check ins. Were those supposed to be newspaper reports? They sounded too personal to be newspaper reports. Those few paragraphs were weird.
I liked the time hops, going back and forth between Sadie’s childhood and adulthood, but I appreciate that kind of thing in any story. What I didn’t appreciate was when adult Sadie would flashback to something that happened when she was younger. Why not just include that in the portions of the story already designated to flashing back? It confused things for me.
Overall it was a compelling idea but in my opinion Karen Brown just didn’t stick the landing.