f I summarized Talking at Night by Claire Daverley in one word, it would be: realistic. This debut novel felt like watching the events unfold in a friend's life. No grand gestures ... just flawed characters motivated by family obligations, told in three sections: Before, After, and Long After.
Rosie and Josh are twin high school students who're very close despite their differences. Both meet 'bad boy' Will - Rosie at a bonfire and Josh in a math classroom - and he makes an indelible impression on their lives. In a forced proximity situation, Rosie and Will talk all night, beginning a bond that's nurtured during covert meetings rather than public dates.
Graduation and a tragic event put Rosie and Will on divergent paths with new people. But through the years, they're like magnets; sometimes drawn together by irresistible attraction while other times forced apart like repelling forces by factors beyond their control. Rosie makes a big self-sacrificing decision that felt real to me as it may be what I'd do in the same situation.
This quiet, melancholy novel features themes of grief, sacrifice, and the power of music. I read an ebook so I didn't realize it was 400 pages. While the story didn't drag, tighter editing would have improved its pacing. This character-driven book is on the Modern Mrs. Darcy summer reading guide, which should surprise no one.
Thank you to Pamela Dorman Books and NetGalley for the egalley of this emotional novel.
Rosie and Josh are twin high school students who're very close despite their differences. Both meet 'bad boy' Will - Rosie at a bonfire and Josh in a math classroom - and he makes an indelible impression on their lives. In a forced proximity situation, Rosie and Will talk all night, beginning a bond that's nurtured during covert meetings rather than public dates.
Graduation and a tragic event put Rosie and Will on divergent paths with new people. But through the years, they're like magnets; sometimes drawn together by irresistible attraction while other times forced apart like repelling forces by factors beyond their control. Rosie makes a big self-sacrificing decision that felt real to me as it may be what I'd do in the same situation.
This quiet, melancholy novel features themes of grief, sacrifice, and the power of music. I read an ebook so I didn't realize it was 400 pages. While the story didn't drag, tighter editing would have improved its pacing. This character-driven book is on the Modern Mrs. Darcy summer reading guide, which should surprise no one.
Thank you to Pamela Dorman Books and NetGalley for the egalley of this emotional novel.
