Currently reading
Soulless: The Manga Vol. 2 (The Parasol Protectorate Manga #2)
Asymmetry (Twelve Planets)
Mullumbimby Madness #1: Never Trust a Book with a Colour Cover
The Walking Dead, Vol. 18: What Comes After
Sunburnt Country
Bark at the Moon: Bert Rokey's Letters from the South Pacific, 1942-1945: How a Soldier and Sabetha, His Kansas Farm Community, Survived World War II
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Girl Defective
Midnight Blue-Light Special
My Policeman
Run to Me: A Novel
Content Notes: children in danger, some child neglect/abuse, vivid description of PTSD symptomsThis is an excellent nailbiter set in the woods of northern Maine. The shifting point-of-view was a bit confusing for me in the galley, but with proper scene breaks it should work well. I liked the moxie of the child protagonist a lot. What I particularly admire was the way Shyler's spirit and courage shone through while she was struggling with severe PTSD. The PTSD rang true to me, which is a tricky thing to pull off. It didn't suddenly evaporate conveniently when it needed to - it caused very significant problems - but she fought on. What I didn't like much was the romantic subplot. I don't think it was necessary to the story, except as a means to the Happy Family endgame, and I was really very squicked by the fact that the doctor's romantic pursuit arose from a meeting within a medical consultation in which Shyler, a very ill woman, had come to the doctor for help. The ethical issues of that situation are decidedly non-trivial, and these issues were completely ignored in the book. I can imagine many readers might be able to overlook this, but as a doctor myself this problem just kept screaming at me.Otherwise, though, this is a very competent debut, and I'd definitely pick up Hester's next book.
