A family breaks down, but rebuilds
Without a doubt Susie Samon's story is compelling -- the first pages of the book are intense and disturbing -- but the subtle underlayer of the book is the family left behind. All the family -- father, mother, sister, brother, grandmother -- are rich characters in themselves. As a reader, I craved to understand their experiences and emotions. Alice Sebold does a wonderful job of bringing them all to life. Buckley, in particular, will break your heart. You'll want to reach through the pages to comfort the little boy who grows in an adolescent, his life so thrown off course by the events he had no control over. Wonderful portrait of a loving, protective, and grieving father, too.