This novel is set in the mid-1970's at a beach front (not named in the novel). This powerful novel focuses on June, a young girl who is abandoned at a motel on the coast with her infant child, Luke. They are both eventually taken in by the motel's owner, Mabel who is trying to move on after the death of her husband. Mabel is ready to close up for the season until June and Luke change her plans. It is a very dim and dull journey for most of the characters but the novel focuses on the spirit of each character. This novel will have a long lasting impact on a reader, as it did for me.
I thought this story was very ambitious with a lot of plot lines weaving back and fourth and in and out of each other. Melanie Wallace is a very intelligent writer, but word choice is not the only thing that can make a novel great. I found myself forced to finish this novel. Each chapter is told from a different point of view, and from different places in the beach town where June and her baby Luke have been abandoned. Sad to say, that is what threw me off the most. I just wish they would have stayed in one or two places. Melanie Wallace did make me care about each character in their own way, but I was still left with a feeling that I did not know the characters well enough to actually love them.
Despite the narration style being very slow, I would love to know what happens next with June. I would be willing to read the second book if Melanie Wallace decides to continue writing this story.
I give this novel a 3 out of 5 stars!
Special thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the copy.
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