Author: Sarah Jio
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2012
Pages: 320
Pages: 320
Rating: Do Not Recommend
Synopsis: Seattle, 1933. Single mother Vera Ray kisses her three-year-old son, Daniel, goodnight and departs to work the night-shift at a local hotel. She emerges to discover that a May-Day snow has blanketed the city, and that her son has vanished. Outside, she finds his beloved teddy bear lying face-down on an icy street, the snow covering up any trace of his tracks, or the perpetrator's.
Seattle, 2010. Seattle Herald reporter Claire Aldridge, assigned to cover the May 1 "blackberry winter" storm and its twin, learns of the unsolved abduction and vows to unearth the truth. In the process, she finds that she and Vera may be linked in unexpected ways.
Sarah Jio burst onto the fiction scene with two sensational novels—The Violets of March and The Bungalow. With Blackberry Winter—taking its title from a late-season, cold-weather phenomenon—Jio continues her rich exploration of the ways personal connections can transcend the boundaries of time.
Review: I knew going into this it would be an emotionally challenging book. As a mom with a little boy not much older than my own, my heart went out to Vera and Daniel. I kept having to remind myself that this is a work of fiction.
This isn't why I gave it a "do not recommend" rating though. This novel moved incredibly slowly, unimportant and seemingly random details were awkwardly revealed, and characters seemed to miss obvious cues or didn't connect the very obvious dots. The characters were also cliche, so very cliche. They also took on traits and interests at the convenience of the author, rather than staying true to themselves. It was hard for me as the reader to understand their motivations and rationale.
Obviously this novel didn't work for me. Rather than just returning it unfinished to the library, I forced myself to hang in there; apparently a glutton for for punishment. It was a painful read...until I got to the last two discs when it finally all came together. Maybe I would have enjoyed this more had I read the print version. I don't know.
This isn't why I gave it a "do not recommend" rating though. This novel moved incredibly slowly, unimportant and seemingly random details were awkwardly revealed, and characters seemed to miss obvious cues or didn't connect the very obvious dots. The characters were also cliche, so very cliche. They also took on traits and interests at the convenience of the author, rather than staying true to themselves. It was hard for me as the reader to understand their motivations and rationale.
Obviously this novel didn't work for me. Rather than just returning it unfinished to the library, I forced myself to hang in there; apparently a glutton for for punishment. It was a painful read...until I got to the last two discs when it finally all came together. Maybe I would have enjoyed this more had I read the print version. I don't know.
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