Diagnosed with XP, a rare medical condition which makes him lethally sensitive to light, Tyler is a thirteen-year-old who desperately wants just one thing: to be normal. His mother Eve also wants just one thing: to protect her son. As Tyler begins roaming their cul-de-sac at night, cloaked in the safety of the darkness, he peers into the lives of the other families on the street-looking in on the things they most want hidden. Then, the young daughter of a neighbor suddenly vanishes, and Tyler may be the only one who can make sense of her disappearance…but what will happen when everyone's secrets are exposed to the light?
Kindle Edition, 448 pages
Expected publication:
February 4th 2014
by Bantam
Kristine's Thoughts:
* I received a copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group - Bantam Dell via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Where do I start with this book? There are so many different but important aspects tied neatly within the pages of this book that I don't want to leave anything out. You have a young teenage boy with a life threatening illness (XP), a teenage girl who slips through the families cracks, a stuggling marriage, a missing girl, odd neighbours and a ton of lies and secrets. This book will have you questioning morals, the lengths you would go, and the secrets you would keep in order to protect your family. Book clubs everywhere will have a field day discussing it.
This book is told from three different points of view, Eve (the mother), David (the father) and Tyler (the son). I am a huge fan of multiple narratives because I think it gives you a stronger and better understanding of the characters. In this story it was very effective in showing what each of them were struggling and dealing with. You could empathise and feel the pain of all three of them whether you agreed with their actions or not.
Eve just wants her son to be safe and does everything in her power to beat the odds of his 20 year life expectancy. She is so focused on Tyler that she doesn't notice changes in her 16 year old daughter and the strain on her marriage.
Tyler wants to be a normal teenage boy and do normal things like everyone else but he knows he can't. His day is dictated by when the sun rises and sets. He sneeks out of his house at night with his camera to take pictures of people and animals doing normal everyday things to make himself feel better. He struggles with the changes in his sister who he was once very close.
David doesn't get to see his family as much as he would like because he works in a different city and can only fly in on weekends to spend time with them. He struggles with the strain his absence has on his family and wants them to move so that they can all be together again.
One stormy night 11 year old Amy, a close neighbour friend, goes missing and their world is turned upside down. Each of them carries secrets about that night that they hold close and the plot thickens with twists and turns.
Buckley has created a fabulous, thought provoking story that leaves you questioning what lengths you would go to in order to protect your family. I adored this book and am so grateful to have had the opportunity to read it in advance of its realease date. It was a very easy 5 stars from me. I can't wait to check out some of her other work.
About the Author
Website-http://www.carlabuckley.com/
Twitter-@CarlaBuckley
Facebook-https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carla-Buckley/159163215914?fref=ts
Goodreads-https://www.goodreads.com/CarlaBuckley
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