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Feb 01, 2018JCLChrisK rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
For this review, I'm going to repeat what I wrote about Wolk's previous book, Wolf Hollow: "This is a beautifully crafted book with as vivid a sense of place, time, and character as I've encountered. Readers come to fully know the story's setting and participants with an affecting clarity. [Crow] makes a wonderful narrator, and her carefully observed insights into herself and others provide a perfect perspective for understanding the tragedies at the heart of the story. She knows, by the end, that she has made a significant transition from childhood to adulthood. She knows far more about pain and suffering, and she knows far more about decency and kindness and community. The unfolding of that transition is transporting, meaningful, and moving. This is a story you feel." A few of those details may not be quite right, but the gist of it is. I repeat myself, however, for the same reason I'm giving this only four stars instead of five: it follows in Wolf Hollow's footsteps a bit too precisely. The details are different, but the structure, flow, and style are so similar that in some ways I felt I was reading the same story. It's an excellent story; I just needed it to be a bit more distinct. That's a very nitpicky criticism, though, that won't matter to most readers. I really enjoyed reading it and most likely you will, too. Highly recommended.