The Fall of Lisa Bellow

by Susan Perabo

When a middle school girl is abducted in broad daylight, a fellow student and witness to the crime copes with the tragedy in an unforgettable way.

What happens to the girl left behind?

A masked man with a gun enters a sandwich shop in broad daylight, and Meredith Oliver suddenly finds herself ordered to the filthy floor, where she cowers face to face with her nemesis, Lisa Bellow, the most popular girl in her eighth grade class. The minutes tick inexorably by, and Meredith lurches between comforting the sobbing Lisa and imagining her own impending death. Then the man orders Lisa Bellow to stand and come with him, leaving Meredith the girl left behind.

After Lisa’s abduction, Meredith spends most days in her room. As the community stages vigils and searches, Claire, Meredith’s mother, is torn between relief that her daughter is alive, and helplessness over her inability to protect or even comfort her child. Her daughter is here, but not.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Contemporary, Thriller, Literary Fiction, Adult Fiction, Mystery Thriller

352 pages, Hardcover

First published March 14, 2017

About the author

Susan Perabo is the author of two novels, "The Fall of Lisa Bellow" and "The Broken Places," and two collections of short stories, "Why They Run the Way They Do" and "Who I Was Supposed to Be." Her fiction has been anthologized in "Best American Short Stories," "Pushcart Prize Stories," and "New Stories from the South," and has appeared in numerous magazines, including One Story, Glimmer Train, Story, The Iowa Review, The Missouri Review, and The Sun. She is Writer in Residence and Professor of Creative Writing at Dickinson College and on the faculty of the Queens University low-residency MFA program.

Reviews

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

My reviews can also be seen at: https://deesradreadsandreviews.wordpr...

4.5 Stars

I came across this book by chance. I was actually searching for another book and this one popped up. I thought it sounded really interesting.

As the book opens we meet Meredith Oliver age thirteen. Meredith is in the eighth grade, she tells us how it's all downhill after grade five.

"In fifth grade you were still friends with everyone, whether you liked it or not because it was easier for the adults that way"

The playing field was even and the same things happened to everyone. But by sixth grade the playing field drastically changed. Meredith has spent the last two years since trying to find her place.

All of this is made so much harder by Lisa Bellow....

Lisa Bellow and Meredith Oliver are not friends. They actually don't like each other much at all.

One afternoon after school Meredith decides to stop at the local sandwich shop. She really wants a root beer. However, when she sees Lisa Bellow in the shop placing an order for moment she debates walking away. But when Lisa catches her eye through the glass, Meredith figures it will look weird if she leaves now, so she walks in. Two minutes later a man enters the store with a gun and orders the girls to the floor.

Both of their lives are forever changed.

Meredith is terrified... positive she's about to die. But the next moment the man is gone and she's alone on the floor. The man has left ....but he's taken Lisa with him.

In the aftermath of Lisa's abduction the community rallies together, Meredith retreats into herself. She rarely speaks to anyone. Her mother, Claire doesn't know how to get through to her. She knows she's still lucky that her daughter is not the one missing, she's right down the hall in her bedroom.....yet she's not.

How does a family go on after something like this happens?

A story about a missing girl but also the girl left behind. We also see how the families are affected by this devastating crime. How they relate to each other as they try to deal with what has happened. Each individual copes in their own way, ways very different from what we might expect.

This is a well-written and interesting story that was easy to follow. The characters realistic and well-drawn, flaws and all. I was fascinated with how Meredith coped in the aftermath of what had happened. I found Meredith's mother, Claire especially intriguing as I tried to understand some of her actions. As the mother of a teenage girl this was a terrifying read in many ways.

The Fall of Lisa Bellow is a novel about a horrible crime and the aftermath of that crime. But it is also about family, love, friendship, loss, anger, guilt, and forgiveness. A dark yet beautifully written coming of age story. I am absolutely looking forward to reading more from Susan Perabo.

Thank you NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and Susan Perabo for providing an advanced readers copy of this book for me to read in exchange for my honest review.

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Update: Thank you 'Angela' ....she told me this book is now available for request on Edelweiss --plus its now available on Netgalley. Just letting those know --for those who are interested!
:) .....and to those who read 'advance readers'.

I know I'm not the only fan of Susan Perabo. Many community friends on Goodreads
have all said the same...."Susan's short stories -dark & light- about love and loss are
real". Susan reaches us deeply".

Well, I'm honored - and thankful to have been offered an early advance copy of Susan's "BREAKOUT NOVEL". I can't wait for my friends to read it...so we can chat about this story together.
It's a knockout - powerful - page- turning -enthralling novel!!!

We start with a family. The Oliver family consists of Mark,(father), Claire,(mother),
Meredith, ( in middle school student), and Evan, ( High school older brother)


We know from the blurb that Meredith is the girl who was 'not' abducted. Lisa Bellow is.
Lisa Bellow was leader of her pack of the 'all-season-tanned legs' and perfectly silky hair group. They each wore gold gladiator sandals- which Meredith thought were dumb. Meredith was not fan.... and certainly not part of her group.
Even so, how might you feel if you walked away completely unharmed- when another schoolmate --( like her or hate her) --has gone: missing?
And might you wonder ....."why would a robber become a kidnapper?"

There is a lot going on in this novel....
......EVERY character is well defined extremely well developed... (you could write a separate story about each of character in this novel).

After Meredith is back home with her family --( Lisa is not) --is when things get so twisty interesting- it's impossible to put this book down. I completely canceled plans yesterday- I didn't move until I finished it. The phone was off. My husband did the grocery shopping.
There is a lot to think about in this novel. I'm not done yet. The side themes are almost as complex as the main plot...and the storytelling carries an indisputable momentum.

Two inner voices that are absolutely fascinating are Meredith and her mother Claire.
Both of these characters - each have something about them that makes them unique.
I don't see female characters in novels like either Claire or Meredith often. Pay close attention.

Since I really don't want to spoil the story -- I'm only going to share a few side sillies...
( which really were silly-fun for me)... THESE will make more sense when you read the book.
..... you might get a desire for 'mini' tater tots, or pancakes
.....shoe shopping at the mall on a Saturday afternoon with the entire family solves all problems
...."Curious George goes to the Hospital"....'really' was a favorite book in my house - for both our daughters - Humor me, I'm having fun remembering...
......"Trauma is our thing".
......"There's no dog".
Ok.....and getting a little more serious....I'd like to include an except which took my breath away. It was so truthful it hurt:
But first a little background--- Claire was worried about her daughter Meredith after the gunman incident. ( of course )
She calls their psychiatrist, Dr. Moon.
"But we're at a loss. We have no idea what to do"
"She'll find ways to comfort herself, he said. "Those ways might not make any sense to you or me. But that doesn't mean they're not working".
"She has to process what happened".
"And what are we supposed to do in the meantime?"
"You're supposed to wait. And you're supposed to be there for her when she's ready".
"How will I know when she is ready?"
"You've been protecting her your whole life. You'll know".
But he was wrong. Protecting her? Psychiatrists are stupid. Psychiatrist, in fact, we're complete morons. She could not protect her daughter. She could not protect her from the stomach flu. She could not protect her from cancer or AIDS or the common cold. She could not protect her from mean girls. She could not protect her from her friends. She could not protect her from her own thoughts. She could not protect her from men who took girls from the line at the Deli Barn and killed them".
"She could not protect her son. She could not protect him from bullies. She could not protect him from pill bottles. She could not protect him from girls who would break his heart. She could not protect him from drunk drivers. She could not protect him from crazy people with guns. She could not protect him from baseballs".

Susan Perabo's explores a robbery gone bad, and how each family member functions in the aftermath. -She introduces 'channeling' in the most realistic beautiful ways I've ever seen done in a novel. It's heart wrenching. She explores community and the dynamics between middle school girls.
She explores parents love -protection - limitations.....healing and forgiveness
There's a sibling relationship worth discussing - a marriage worth discussing - and a scene at the dentist office you'll never forget.
Perfect book club pick!!! Much to discuss!!!

Susan Perabo has the uncanny ability to get inside the head of the characters -- and brings them vividly alive!!!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Fall of Lisa Bellow by Susan Perabo is a 2017 Simon & Schuster publication.

This is a poignant and haunting, if not slightly offbeat novel, which examines the aftermath of a robbery and the kidnapping of Lisa Bellow.

Lisa was one of the popular girls in school and could lash out with her poisonous tongue, which Meredith Oliver found herself on the receiving end of on a few occasions. But, Meredith was not going to allow Lisa’s presence in the Deli Barn deter her from getting a root beer after school one afternoon.

Little did Meredith know that her fateful choice would see both her and Lisa lying on the floor with a gun pointed at them during a robbery attempt. Nor could Meredith have foreseen that Lisa would be kidnapped during that robbery while Meredith was left behind.

This shattering event and the effect it has on the entire Oliver family is the focal point of the novel, with special emphasis on Meredith as she tries to cope with what is most assuredly survivor's guilt, mixed with a dash of PTSD.

As if thirteen isn't awkward enough, it's that age when parents are not sure how much freedom to bestow, wishing to hold on to the last vestiges of childhood and innocence, Meredith must now cope with being famous, trying to build mental toughness and desperately, and bravely attempting to deal with her problems alone, without calling attention to her troubling thoughts.

Mark and Claire, Meredith's parents, have only just begun to recover from the shock of having their son, Evan, blinded in one eye after suffering a horrible injury that also altered the course of his future, and are now trying to figure out how to help their daughter cope with a traumatic event, on top of maintaining busy careers and other obligations, which stretches the family to their limits.

Although Mark and Claire handle pressure and stress in different ways, I didn’t feel a strong like or dislike for either one of them, but occasionally felt myself identifying with Claire’s obvious pride in her children, her annoyance with her even keeled husband, the stress she puts on herself and the unapologetic way she expresses her relief that her child is safe. Her inner thoughts, which can be selfish, and maybe a little fiendish, are probably more realistic than some might want to admit.

Mark on the other hand, doesn’t get to voice his inner thoughts, but we learn enough about him from Claire and their dialogue with one another to get an idea of how he feels and copes, although he is a little too perfect sometimes, and I can see why Claire became frustrated with him.

Evan is typical, funny, and I think the trauma his sister suffered pulled him out of a long depression and prompted him to continue doing something he loved even if his prospects have changed. He was good to Meredith in his way, but the dynamic between them changes after the robbery and the hero worship Meredith once extolled on Evan quickly evaporates.

The teenage drama which deals with cliques and popularity is also considered as Meredith, once victimized, suddenly finds herself keeping company with a different crowd.

But, the thing that really sticks with me about this novel, is Meredith’s personal journey and the toll her harrowing experience took on her. Her guilt is palpable and my heart went out to her as she struggled to adjust to a new normal in her life and her attempts to help Lisa’s mother and hopefully find a way to discover who kidnapped her.

Meredith’s voice is filled with anxiety, fear, and lost innocence, but she is also a thoughtful, caring girl, desperate to make things better.

This book doesn’t offer up pat answers and realistically spotlights a family placed in extraordinary circumstances and how they rise to the occasion and how they falter at times. Ultimately, the story is about family, about surviving a tragedy, about bravery in the face of adversity and sticking together, determined to make it through the messiness of life, despite their flaws and missteps.

This is a thought provoking novel, in which the characters will linger around in my mind and heart for a time. Although the story is dark and melancholy, the ending left me with a feeling of hope for Meredith and her family. Although none of them will be the same, and Mark won’t be able to use his ‘reset’ card, the family will forge on and will each be the best they can be and do the best they can with what cards they are dealt.

4 stars

[Felice Laverne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Susan Perabo’s The Fall of Lisa Bellow is very on trend at the moment. By this, I mean that she joins the ranks of so many other authors writing their version of the same topic: What happens to an otherwise normal family after a child abduction? The past few months have yielded so many of these novels—the recently reviewed The Trophy Child included—that you can only stop to wonder how long this wave of like novels will continue—and who’ll do it better.

But, let’s turn our attention specifically to Lisa Bellow, shall we?

Perabo started this novel at a walk and never really picked up a lot of speed. In fact, this novel started off with a lull that bordered on boring. Though Meredith’s chapters were believable from a middle schooler’s POV, they were just sort of blah. Essentially, uninteresting chapters describing an “unremarkable” kid, as she claimed of herself early on. Perhaps this was a stylistic tool, but it bored me to skimming. The only thing about those first few chapters that I appreciated was the mother’s outlook on marriage and motherhood. Though it came from a place of cookie-cutter middle-class suburbia—and read as such, with family breakfasts, family games and singalongs described—her reaction to her life, in the context, read as real, and that DID interest me.

However, this novel’s 3-point shots—you know, those pivotal scenes that make a reader gasp for more, desperately turning the pages to become so engrossed in the story that they can’t bear to put it down; yep, those scenes—were not brilliantly handled by a long shot. And those, of course, are the ones that HAVE to be handled well. In the interest of *no spoilers*, I won’t point out specific scenes, but I will say that they weren’t presented with the drama or tension that they needed, that they deserved. It was almost like, “Oh, by the way, that just happened.” I actually had to re-read at least one of the scenes, thinking, “Surely, that’s not how we’re leaving it! Really?”

In all honesty, it's difficult to really react to this novel, because it was kind of like cardboard—sturdy but bland. There was a unique idea here, but there wasn’t much by the way of thrilling—or even engrossing—about it. It was yet another cozy family thriller—The Trophy Child meets The Most Dangerous Place on Earth + a mug of Earl Grey tea and some fuzzy socks. If that’s what you’re looking for in your next read, CHOOSE THIS NOVEL! But, it didn’t work for me.

Was The Fall of Lisa Bellow deficient in its display of actual writing skill? No, not really. Did Lisa Bellow attempt to put a spin on an inside look at a typical family and what happens when tragedy strikes? Yes, it did. But I never particularly felt anything for these characters or the outcome of their lives. But, by a little over halfway through, I was screaming, “Can we get on with it already?” And, the one person's life that I did care about was NEVER resolved!

Picture this: You’re presented with a plate beautifully smeared with a delicate pea purée—BUT that’s it. There’s no meat, no potatoes, nothing to really sink into to feel satisfied by the end of it (excuse the Southerner in me, if you will). I love a delicate purée, but not when there’s nothing else holding it up. And that’s what I got from Lisa Bellow. What am I going to do with all of these details--subtle little details that could have meant so much--if I don’t care about the people experiencing them? I didn’t need the attempted nuances of learning about Meredith’s favorite place to sit in the family car or the mother, Claire’s, perspective on watching her son grow up. Why? Because all of this was just fodder for filling and really amounted to nothing by way of an actual plot.

(Fingers to nose bridge) And I really can’t even discuss how this novel was resolved. Just can’t. Just…sigh…the novel just sort of slipped away into oblivion, so much so that I literally kept turning the pages, as if there would be something more there at the end—like that bonus scene at the end of the movie after the credits roll.

Susan Perabo’s The Fall of Lisa Bellow did nothing for me and, unfortunately, earned little more than a ‘Meh, I coulda done without this one.’ **

*I received an advance-read copy of this novel from the publisher, Simon & Schuster, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of The Fall of Lisa Bellow through NetGalley for an honest opinion. My thanks to Simon & Shuster and Susan Perabo for the opportunity.

"Underwater like Harry Houdini bogged down with ancient padlocks."

It's called helplessness.....the inability to break free from all that suffocates our ability to draw normal, slow, in-and-out breaths. The desperate desire to live simply outside of its grasp.

Meredith Oliver is suffering from profound survivor's guilt. She is a mere thirteen years old dragging the weight and mass of an unspeakable trauma. Simple, boring days are no longer that. Because it was a simple, boring day that found Meredith in the deli waiting for the likes of a rootbeer. Ahead of her in line is Lisa Bellow, the middle school's most popular girl. Together, they have only one, present identity....that of a customer. No issues of popularity, fashion, or grades. But in rushes a thief who will take more than just cash that fated day. Lisa is kidnapped and Meredith is not.

Susan Perabo sets her scope wide on this one. We are privy to the inner workings of not just Meredith, but her brother Evan and the main adult characters. Through this novel we will experience the lacklustre lead of the role of parenting and those in authority. Claire, Meredith's mother, is one of the walking wounded. Her relationship with her own mother spills out in ugly stains into her own life. And, believe me, no one is safe from her unresolved issues. No one.

This was my first book by Susan Perabo. She has a tendency to meander at will. There were long passages that seemed to have been triggered by "now that reminds me of a story....." And yet, Perabo has an uncanny ability to get deep, deep into her characters' psyche. She finds the words and puts a jagged label on the unspeakable pain. That, to me, says it all.

Now that I've had a tiny sip of Susan Perabo's cup, I'll be certain to seek her other writings. Without a doubt, emotions, both recognized and unrecognized, took residence inside and outside of these pages.

[Larry H · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a tragedy strikes a friend, or even someone we're merely acquainted with, we wonder how that person or family is handling what happened. "I can't imagine what they're going through," we might think, or, sometimes more commonly, "There before the grace of God go I." Susan Perabo's new novel, The Fall of Lisa Bellow , looks at a tragedy through the eyes of a young girl who witnessed it, as well as her family, and illustrates reactions we might not be proud of, but which seem completely understandable in the wake of what occurred.

Meredith Oliver is an eighth grader with marginal self-esteem. She and her two best friends spend their time loathing the "mean girls" of their class—the pretty, popular girls who are the center of everyone's attention, criticize and belittle their classmates, and make many students hope they can avoid the girls' notice. One of the queens of the group, Lisa Bellow, was Meredith's friend in fourth grade, but obviously a lot has changed since then, and although Meredith and Lisa have lockers next to each other, Meredith lives in somewhat-constant fear that Lisa will embarrass her publicly,, relegating her to the bottom of the social strata of middle school.

One day after school Meredith goes to get a soda at a nearby deli before walking home, and Lisa is there, criticizing the sandwich maker. Without warning, a masked man with a gun enters the shop, orders both girls to get on the floor, and demands access to the store's safe. Meredith is calm at first, and helps Lisa deal with what is happening, but it's not too long before she herself begins to panic. The man demands Lisa stand up and he takes her from the store, leaving Meredith behind on the floor.

The Fall of Lisa Bellow looks at how Meredith handles the mixed blessing of being safe and being the one left behind. She vacillates between catatonia and rebellion, throwing her already worried parents further into a tailspin. She even imagines speaking with Lisa, and imagines what is happening to her, even picturing what it might be like if the two of them were abducted together.

Behind the fragility of Meredith's condition, the book also looks at how Claire, Meredith's mother, is handling this close call her daughter experienced. What happens when you realize you can't protect your children from everything out in the world? How can you keep living life as usual when you know there's a chance something might affect your children, something you can't control no matter how hard you try? How do you help your children if they won't tell you what they need, what they're feeling, what they're afraid of? And how do you handle everything else around you—your marriage, your job, your other relationships—when all that matters is what happened?

This is a tremendously thought-provoking book, and as she did in her incredible story collection, Why They Run the Way They Do (which made my list of the best books I read in 2015), Perabo pulls you into the story almost immediately. There is tension, there is emotion, there is even a little bit of disgust (perhaps even a bit more than you think), but there are also glimmers of hope.

Where I struggled with this book is that while I understood what might make the characters act the way they did, and certainly sympathized with them, I really didn't like Claire or Meredith's characters very much. Claire's behavior at different times in the book was almost horrifying, and while I realize Meredith was dealing with significant post-traumatic stress, her actions and reactions made her difficult to root for. But as I thought about how this book and these characters made me feel, I realized my reactions might be more true-to-life for observers of a family dealing with such a crisis, and I realized again what a genius storyteller Perabo is.

I didn't love this as much as her story collection, but this is still a very well-written book. If you're unfamiliar with Perabo's work, you owe it to yourself to pick up one of her books. You'll marvel at her words, but also the choices she makes in telling her characters' stories.

NetGalley and Simon & Schuster provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tragedy, fear, disappointment and emotional turmoil is what you will find in THE FALL OF LISA BELLOW.

The unexpected and brutally descriptive account of the first Oliver catastrophe about blew me away.....the crushing blow, the severity of the injury, the shattered hopes for the future, and OMG, the ice cream cone diagnosis. My heart broke for (17 year old) Evan, but not so for mother Claire or the way she handled the on-going aftermath of the situation. (and just wait till you see what she does!)

Now.....dealing with one teenage crisis in a household is bad enough, but the Oliver's also have a younger (13 year old) daughter who finds herself involved in a burglary/kidnapping (no spoiler here), and while Meredith and her traumatic experience in the Deli Barn is the main focus of the story, I actually felt more empathy for Evan (go figure) admiring his witty personality and intestinal fortitude.

Anyway.....Susan Perabo does an excellent job of character development, leads the reader in surprising directions you don't expect to go and creates a myriad of emotions with respect to each crisis and personal interaction resulting in a great read!

(Thank you Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC!)

[Cheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

!! NOW AVAILABLE !!

A life-changing event occurs and Meredith Oliver’s previously quiet, unobserved life is suddenly thrust into the spotlight. Her occasional morning ritual of recognizing herself in the mirror, of greeting herself, grounding herself in the here and now will forever be changed on one day. That moment of sinking into the rhythmic tone of her voice and the repetitive phrase reminding her to stay in the present, in the here and now, this has become like a mantra, it’s a part of the pattern of her life. That split second between when the inner calm shut out all the outside noise, her sense of being – just being. An inner recognition of it all …merging, becoming …and then being whooshed into the rush and bustle of the day. That is what would give her the sense of self she needed to get through another day of school. Another day of school, of not being one of the popular ones, of going unnoticed. Just another day of being thirteen, almost like any other.

This day may begin like most others, a few minor school-related things, a broken pencil, an annoyed teacher. So, just an ordinary day at school - except Meredith is hung up on the less-than-perfect score she’ll now get because of a broken pencil. What is the solution for pre-teen angst over those things adults recognize as small stuff but at thirteen can turn into monumentally life altering, horrible, why-can’t-you-understand moments? Root beer. Or, at least on this particular day for this particular girl, this is what she wants. The negative? She sees Lisa Bellow inside the market, the most popular girl in her class. Another day, this might have stopped her in her tracks, but today she’s not going to change her mind.

Lisa and Meredith are standing and waiting when the bell on the door rings again and in comes a man. Not a customer, though, this man’s face is covered by a mask and a hood, and most of his body are covered by and oversized hooded sweatshirt. He orders the girls to the floor. When Lisa is overwhelmed with fear, it’s Meredith that talks her down. When Meredith’s begins to mount, it’s Lisa’s words that calm her. Nothing extraordinary, Lisa just tells her not to worry, that everything will be okay - only now the thief’s not satisfied his meager haul is enough for all his troubles, so he decides to take Lisa Bellow, too.

And just like that, there’s one girl missing, and one girl left behind, and the girl left behind crumbles under that pressure. Breaks a little. And just like that, lives change. Meredith’s life, her parent’s lives. Her brother’s life, Evan, already recovering from his own life-altering event, changes yet again. Lisa Bellow and Lisa Bellow’s mother’s lives change, and everyone who knows either girl is affected in some degree or another.

There are the inevitable questions asked and rumours floating about, interrogations to contend with, school and jobs to return to. The ripple effect keeps growing and receding, pulling people in, pushing others out. And a thirteen year-old girl is somehow left to navigate this new and ever-changing terrain. Instead, she keeps reliving the event in her mind, building on it, forging a closer relationship post-kidnapping than they had before, Meredith tries to give back to Lisa what Lisa gave to her: Hope. A way to let go of the past and to move forward for Lisa, and also for Meredith.

I don’t know what percentage of people can relate to a thirteen year-old girl, maybe not even another thirteen year-old girl – quite possibly not even the thirteen year-old girl in question. Let alone to relate to a thirteen year-old girl suffering from survivor’s guilt, that’s quite an accomplishment, but Susan Perabo clearly has that ability and talent.

Pub Date: 14 Mar 2017

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Simon and Schuster

[Kaylin (The Re-Read Queen) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars

Overview

If you are looking for a thriller, this is not it.

This story does revolve around a kidnapping, and there's certainly an element of mystery. But it’s the opposite of a thriller. The plot slowwwwwlllyyyy creeps forward, spending time on languid daydreams and conjecture, and raising questions about life and family. In summary, it’s Literary Fiction first and foremost.

Literary Fiction Checklist:
[X] Middle-Aged Woman/Man in Unhappy Marriage
[X] Parents who struggle to understand their children
[X] Telling rather boring daily events in unusual ways
[X] History of recent trauma
[X] References to Classics (usually in an English class)
[X] The slowest of pacing

That doesn’t mean it’s bad. Just that the marketing is a little confusing.

Acclaimed Short-Fiction author, Susan Perabo’s debut novel, this focuses on the consequences of a robbery turned kidnapping. Eighth-grader Meredith is present when her ‘arch-nemesis’ Lisa Bellow is kidnapped, and most of the story revolves around the fallout.

I received an ARC of this through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Simon & Shuster for this opportunity!

Pros:

The whole story is a fascinating examination of the aftermath of trauma. It compares both personal and witnessed without being insensitive or trite.

Throughout the story, there’s a really brilliant discussion of bullying and slut-shaming that’s incredibly nuanced and complex without being boring. I wish there had been more resolution for this discussion, but as is, it shows that being unpopular doesn’t necessarily mean you aren’t a bully yourself. It really expanded upon ‘popularity’ and letting it define us.

Meredith’s mother was very interesting, though her struggles alone were not. We’ve all seen the middle-aged married woman contemplating if this is how she wanted to end up. But I haven’t seen a mother try and determine the difference between protecting your kids and looking for revenge.

Cons

None of the characters really stood out to me? In particular Meredith, who had interesting reactions to things, but just didn’t seem to have a personality. She often speculated, but rarely did anything.

There’s no resolution for absolutely anything. Without spoiling, I am not referring to the mystery itself, but rather everything else. Every character has different struggles and plots, but there’s no development for anyone. None of these things change at all, and somehow everyone seems to be where they were in the beginning.

The writing style didn’t click very well with me, and I felt it was overtly wordy in most places. Though it did paint some excellent metaphors (Like stepping on an Ice-Cream Cone. Ouch.)

In Conclusion

Don’t read this if you’re looking for a thriller, but read it if you’re looking for something that raises interesting questions about trauma and our perceptions of others--- just don’t expect any answers to those questions.

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eighth grade is a time of "the haves" and "the have nots". There are popular girls, the fashion setters who roll their eyes to appear superior and the quiet, ignored girls with low self-esteem. Meredith Oliver is chubby and unhappy, feeling that she does not excel at anything. Meredith's locker is next to that of Lisa Bellow, a very popular girl who thinks Meredith is unworthy of even civil conversation. All that will change in the blink of an eye at the Deli while Meredith and Lisa are the sole customers. An armed gunman determined to rob the Deli abducts Lisa Bellow and Meredith Oliver is the girl left behind.

Meredith is found face down on the Deli floor. She is traumatized by the events that have unfolded and is unable to describe the gunman or the getaway car. She is unable to verbalize her experience and has images of having been kidnapped with Lisa and held by the perpetrator. Meredith experiences survivor's guilt.

The Oliver family, at large, has experienced other trauma recently. A freak baseball accident has left brother Evan, an aspiring catcher with eyesight in only one eye, squelching his dreams of a college athletic scholarship. Mother Claire is unable to protect her children from tragedy and cannot rise above this while ever cheerful dad Mark tries to stay positive even to a fault.

Colleen Bellow, Lisa's mother connects with Lisa's friends to keep her daughter's presence alive. She dreads the thought of the telephone ringing.

"The Fall of Lisa Bellow" by Susan Perabo is a story of how trauma and survivor's guilt affect the Oliver family. The characters are believable and their interactions painful and gut-wrenching. A thought-provoking read.

[Norma ~ The Sisters · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5* and rounded up to 4
I am not exactly sure how I feel about this novel. I was totally engrossed in what I was reading and couldn't put it down but it wasn't necessarily what I was expecting and I think that is what spoiled it for me a little bit. I wouldn't describe it as a thriller but more of a psychological drama/literary novel. I did enjoy the characters and the authors writing style but did get annoyed at times with some of the characters "thinking" and "dialogue" expressed throughout the novel. Only because at times I thought it was negative or disrespectful. But maybe it was just the way that the family handled the situations. The novel explores the trauma of survivor's guilt, and the emotional turmoil that the family goes through. It was a fairly good, fast and easy read.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

[Zoeytron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meredith is fine.  Just fine.  Except she's not.  All she wants is to be left alone.  All her dad wants is a return to some trace of normalcy for the family.  Her mom is slowly coming to grips with the fact that it is virtually impossible to protect her loved ones from danger despite her probing methods.     

The intricate corridors of the human mind lie dark and serpentine with myriad doors.  We open the portals that allow us to deal with a traumatic event, either to detach from reality or to create a different truth.  Ideally, healing will be in the offing.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of a family that has experienced tragedy. The parents are both dentists, they have a high school aged son, who has lost one of his eyes during a freak accident playing baseball (I loved this character) and a middle school age, unpopular daughter who is a victim of a deli robbery in which a fellow student is taken by the robber.
This book deals with issues the whole family has, especially the daughter and how she is dealing with the post traumatic event.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and author Susan Perabo for the advanced reader's edition.

[Dorie - Cats&Books :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having raised four daughters, I have lived through the nightmare that middle school sometimes can be. I can well remember the tales of the popular girls, the boy crazy girls, the girls who were smoking pot and having parties before they even reached high school. Fortunately for me, my girls didn’t “mature” until at least their junior year in high school and fortunately for them, they all had something that they were very good at, tennis, gymnastics, drama, etc.

The girl in our story, Meredith, doesn’t seem to have any special something that sets her apart, at least not yet. She is an extremely good student and a great kid but that only settles things with her parents. In school she is ignored by the popular group, headed by Lisa Bellow, your typical blond girl who is pretty, knows how to set a style and gets asked to all of the parties. Though their lockers are next to each other, Lisa won’t even say as much as a “hi”.

Meredith’s mom, Claire, is a well developed character in this story as well. She is one of the narrators and talks about herself when she was young, how she met her now husband Mark, and how she has tried, like all mothers do, to protect her children. But she hasn’t been able to do so with her son Mark, who the year previously had suffered an accident and she hasn’t been able to protect Meredith, not from the heartache of middle school and certainly not from this present crisis.

As the blurb plainly tells us, there is a robbery and an abduction at the local deli and Lisa is the girl who was taken. How this affects every character in the story is unique. I will let you read and enjoy the story for yourselves.

This is a very well written debut novel. The abduction scenes are tense and page turning, the drama of the aftermath is believable and at times heart wrenching. The characters are great and well developed.

There isn’t a lot that I didn’t like about this book except that perhaps the publicity shouldn’t be aimed so much at the thrill seeking reader but more a broad based audience, from teenagers to parents, grandparents and teachers. I think that my daughter who teaches 8th grade (I don’t know how she does it!) would love to read this and recommend it to her students. It's really more than a thriller it's a study in a family post two traumatic events, and a young teenager coming to terms with being the one left behind.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

[Bianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's taken me a while to finish this novel - partly because of the busy time of the year and also because of the subject.

This has been a mixed bag.

The good parts: good writing, very realistic, intimate, raw, and relatable.

The not-so-great parts: nothing much happens after the kidnapping; as the blurb conveys, this is mostly about how a family deals with traumatic events in their life. It's almost entirely a character driven novel, with two points of view: one of the thirteen-year old's Meredith and the other one of her mum's, Claire, who's a dentist.

I must admit I've found this novel depressing. But I admire Perabo's abilities to portrait an everyday, middle-class American family, with all their imperfections and struggles.

This is a good character driven novel, albeit I didn't love it.

I've received this novel via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publishers, Simon & Schuster, for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Fall Of Lisa Bellows by Susan Perabo is the story of how one family copes after a robbery it is thought provoking poignant novel that had me turning the pages, the pacing was top notch the characterisation was well written & believable as it could happen to any one of us at any certain time, saying that i will say i loved this novel i connected with Merdith's character straight away she was dealing with PTSD after the robbery i am dealing with the same thing different circumstances, i thing miss Perabo researched this prose well & kudos is given.


Meredith Oliver goes to Parkway North middle school & was always taunted by Lisa Bellows who was part of the in crowd her acid tounge went Meredith's way quite frequently unttil a Robbery went down at The Deli Bar a masked gunman told everyone to get on the floor & don't move, Meredith was thinking she was going to die here & now & Lisa was kidnapped.


Meredith suffered terribly as the trauma broke her, she kept dreaming of that night, her Mother Claire & father Mark were at a loss at what to do, Claire showed emotion but her father Mark kept this hidden, at times Meredith went deep into the abyss trying to deal with what happened to her, her metal health detereorating quickly.

What happens from here on in is 2 families dealing with trauma one family the Be to understand the situation & dealing with their daughters well being. reccomended for people who like thought provoking novels.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Fall of Lisa Bellow by Susan Perabo
Susan Perabo has written a beautiful heartbreaking novel that inspires hope.
What it means to be a family. What it means to experience being in middle school. How much younger our children are in chronological age and the very difficult traumatic experiences some kids have to deal with astounds me.

Meredith and a fellow student that she doesn't care for named Lisa Bellow, who gets abducted during an armed robbery. This novel deals with how Meredith deals with survivors guilt and she almost disassociates from herself by imagining that she can see Lisa. The story in Meredith's mind of picturing herself with Lisa Bellow in an anonymous apartment with the man who took Lisa. It is almost as if Meredith can picture Lisa safe in her mind then maybe Lisa is alive. By holding on to what Lisa said to Meredith, by keeping Lisa's last words to herself somehow inhibits Meredith's ability to heal. When Meredith tells Lisa's mother what Lisa's last words were I got the sense that Meredith could finally begin to heal. The truth sets you free is a cliche but in finally giving Lisa's mother this gift there is hope

Thank you to Net Galley, Susan Perabo and Simon and Schuster for providing me with an advanced readers copy for this incredibly imaginative story for an honest review.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars--rounded down.

Meredith Oliver and Lisa Bellow are 13 year old girls. They attend school together, but they are part of different groups, and Meredith understands that her group is eclipsed by Lisa’s group. They are the cool girls, and Lisa is the coolest girl of all. But fate flings them into a situation in which they are both at risk, and Meredith walks away, while Lisa does not.

How do you deal with being the survivor of a disaster? What if the person who does not survive is not someone you liked? What if she is someone you might have wished harm upon in your secret daydreams. Particularly, how do you deal with that if you are thirteen?

That is the main story line of this novel, but there are several sidebars which are just as, if not more, interesting. Perabo is an able painter of characters, and I particularly liked Evan, Meredith’s older brother. His story was the one that touched me the most and seemed the most realistic. I could have been persuaded to give this a slightly higher rating if Claire, the mother, had been as real. I found her to be incomprehensible, actually. Unlikable in every way, and clueless about how to care for a traumatized child.

This book is admittedly outside the genres that I generally enjoy, but it did certainly hold my interest and propel me forward right to the end. There were questions I would have liked to have answered, but for the most part those were not germane to making the story whole, and some of the threads were obviously there to heighten the suspense surrounding the mystery. If you are a fan of this type of book, this one would no doubt be a good one to read. Susan Perabo is a good writer and spins a good tale.

I received a copy of The Fall of Lisa Bellow from NetGalley in return for an honest review. My thanks to Simon and Shuster and Susan Perabo for this opportunity.

[Suz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have never read this author before, had not heard of her. I am finding new things through Overdrive. This, of course, is good. The calibre of writing is very good. This had the inkling of literary fiction as the Words flew along in the audio version. A young girl, Lisa Bellow is kidnapped in a sandwich bar, and one of her counterparts is there as Well. Middle school is captured with the nuance that I Would never have imagined. Meredith is the girl left behind, and her constant internal dialogue is amazing, what she comes up with is very very good.

Lisa is the popular girl at school, has a boyfriend, is the beautiful one. She snubs all the other kids and doesn’t come across as being very sincere at all. But this doesn’t mean she deserves this travesty, but Meredith seems to have the maturity to be a reliable narrator (eventually) to tell us the story.

It really does capture the fall of the golden child.

Meredith has the maturity to be tasked with dealing with Lisa’s mother, in a round about way. Not many children could have done this. So, we got to see how a woman deals with the loss of a child, as well as the family of the girl left behind, and the feelings of guilt and gratitude.
Both families are captured in an authentic way, Meredith’s family has had their share of tragedy and Lisa’s family is trying to hold on to other things by way of Lisa’s friends. The desperation is real.

This is not neatly wrapped up, but this story made me think long after hitting stop and returning the book. An author to look out for.

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in one sitting because the writing was beautifully done and I appreciated the way Susan Perablo enveloped you into the plot as a reader - starting with a traumatic event and then showing us the aftermath through the eyes of one mother and her daughter.

The Fall of Lisa Bellow is a wonderfully deep character exploration, a book that give you a real sense of feeling about the characters in it - Meredith had a quirky outlook from the start and seeing that change and alter after the event was utterly compelling. Claire, Mum, too now having to deal with a problem befalling her second child after her first had already suffered was cleverly drawn, occasionally unlikable but doing her best to stay standing.

It is a gentle story in a lot of ways despite the violent event that kicks it off - a kind of rolling picture reel of different senses and feelings - there is somewhat of a disconnect, in fact the character I related most to was Meredith's brother Evan - a quiet and steady background influence.

I think it may suffer from its description. This is not a thriller. It is not even really a mystery and there are no real resolutions as is realistic to most things in life. So don't go into it expecting those things. This is a strong, emotive family drama, an exploration of recovery and an insightful glance into a modern, middle class family whose lives have taken an unexpected turn.

Definitely recommended for fans of Literary character study.

[Tooter · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars. NetGalley Give-Away.

[Vikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haunting... A look into the mind of a 13 year old girl who witnessed a robbery and the abduction of her popular classmate and the fallout in her own life, family and community. Meredith goes through a range of emotions as she sorts through her memories of what happened during the abduction as well as her memories of Lisa Bellow before her abduction and the "could of's" that go through her mind about the abduction and after. It is heartbreaking and shocking what goes through her head. Then there is the way Lisa's mother is acting, wanting Lisa's friends to spend time at her house and to talk to at their homes and on the phone. The police can't seem to figure out who the kidnapper is and if Lisa knew him. Meredith's mother doesn't know how to handle Meredith's sudden distance from her and everyone else and her thoughts and mindset is sometimes refreshingly honest and at other times sort of scary. Meredith's relationship with her brother, who is also still recovering from a life-changing event of his own, helped carry the storyline at times. Overall I liked the book, especially the character development, but I wished the book did not end as suddenly as it seemed to because I got attached to the characters and wanted to see more of their future.

I gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

I received a free advanced copy of this book from NetGalley for review consideration.

[Sarah Joint · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't go into this one thinking it's a suspense or thriller. It's actually more of a character study... or should I say, a study of several characters. Despite Meredith being the main character, she's not the only person whose innermost thoughts we're privy to. This story deals with survivor's guilt, PTSD, trauma, and simply the everyday life of a young teenage girl. After something terrible happens to you, how do you go back? How do you move on, or at least deal with it?

This book was recently named one of the best books to read this year by Glamour, and I can see why. I do think it'll suffer by not knowing what you're getting into though. Yes, the book involves the abduction of a teenage girl, but it focuses much more on the aftermath than the crime.

Meredith just wanted a root beer. Just a root beer from the corner store after a long day at school. When she spots Lisa Bellow in the store before she goes in, she almost changes her mind... not eager to face the "popular girl" in school that she still hasn't forgiven for once making fun of her weight. Though they shared a friendly moment years ago, the most contact they've had since is ignoring each other as they dig through their side by side lockers. Until they're both forced to the ground of the store by a masked robber demanding money from the man working. The mystery man then vanishes with Lisa, leaving Meredith alone and frozen on the floor... where she stays until another customer eventually comes in and finds her and the unconscious worker and phones the police.

This is not the first time something terrible has happened to this family. Meredith's older brother suffered a freak sports injury which resulted in the loss of sight in one of his eyes. His promising future in baseball is proclaimed over, and a year later the whole family is still dealing with it... at least they still have Meredith, who is safe and here... but not.

I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley and Simon & Schuster, thank you! My review is honest and unbiased.

[Zuky the BookBum · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel was one I had been highly anticipating since late last year, and unfortunately, it just wasn’t for me. I’ve read a number of character driven novels in the past couple of months and I think I’m just getting a bit sick of them. Because of this, my review is going to be skewed, there’s no way around that, it just wasn’t the kind of novel I was hoping to read at this point in my reading journey.

The novel was very well put together. The writing was wonderful and the characters were incredibly well developed, but my problem was the plot. As a lot of others have said, this promised suspense and a bit of action, but it was instead a slow moving, poetic family drama.

The characters, I didn’t care enough about to really get invested in their stories. Meredith was fine, and like I previously said, often funny, but I had no empathy for her, so her story meant very little to me. Claire I didn’t like, not even a little bit. I’ve never experienced motherhood, but there was something so immature about her when it came to certain situations with her kids, that I ended up hating her for her behaviour and thoughts.

I hate that I didn’t like this novel, but there we are.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from The Fall of Lisa Bellow. I’d never heard of Susan Perabo, but the blurb grabbed me with its promise of similarities to Everything I Never Told You and Room, two of the best books I’ve read so far in 2016. This can be a double edged sword, going into a book with such high expectations. Fortunately, Lisa Bellow lived up to this tall order.

This is the story of Meredith Oliver, an insecure eighth grade girl who goes into the local deli for a root beer after school, only to witness a robbery and the kidnapping of Lisa Bellow, the pretty, popular girl who Meredith had always disdained. This summary may make it sound like a thriller, but it’s not. This is a quiet character study of a novel, and a careful examination into the psychology of those affected by trauma. In the aftermath of the event, Meredith grapples with the guilt of being the one left behind, and feels a closeness to Lisa that she’s unable to understand. While the obvious choice would have been to center this story around Lisa’s abduction, Susan Perabo opts for the often unexamined perspective: the story of the girl who didn’t get taken, whose life was changed by the event in less ostensible, less quantifiable ways.

This novel weaves between Meredith’s point of view and that of her mother, Claire, whose older son has also recently undergone a severe ordeal. While I thought Meredith was a compelling narrator - insecure, scared, and vulnerable - I found it difficult to sympathize with Claire. I wouldn’t say that I prefer characters to be likable, necessarily - with female characters especially, I think it’s important to let them be flawed and honest, even if it means sacrificing more ‘desirable' characteristics. But for some reason, I never found Claire compelling in her imperfection: I never wanted to dig to the root of her flaws, to really understand her. It didn’t matter so much that I didn’t like her; the problem was that I found myself completely unable to care.

My indifference toward Claire’s character is my main criticism. Otherwise I thought this was a very impressive debut novel. Perabo’s prose was both incisive and compelling; she creates a captivating, page-turning read which both stimulates and challenges the reader. Finally, it bears repeating: don’t go into this novel expecting a thriller. Sure, you’ll want to know what happened to Lisa, but don’t expect that to be the point. This is Meredith’s story, in all its messiness and tension and fragility. Perabo bypasses any temptation to sanitize or sensationalize this story, and deftly cuts to the heart of the drama in a way which is admirably real. A very thought-provoking read.

[Karen R · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a smart and compelling story about a human’s capacity for coping, healing and hope.

Two middle-schoolers in the same place at the same time - one is abducted and one is left behind. Meredith is traumatized and struggling with survivor’s guilt in the tragedy’s aftermath. Meredith’s mother, Claire is flawed (what human isn’t?), but she is a sympathetic character and my heart went out to her, her feeling of helplessness and fiercely trying to protect her daughter. Although I didn’t agree with choices she made, they felt realistic. This is a well-conceived story in which my emotions ran the gamut from compassion to frustration.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the very start of this novel, eighth-grader Meredith Oliver is staring at the mirror, locking eyes with her reflection, and repeating, “This is me. This is my real life. This is me.”

At thirteen years old, nothing really important is supposed to happen to you. Your “real life” hasn’t even started yet. But the unformed Meredith shortly thereafter finds herself at the Deli Barn, where she – and Lisa Bellow, one of the most popular and mean girls in class --- find themselves unwilling participants of an armed robbery.

Lisa is taken. Meredith is left behind. And the question that pervades this book and haunts her mother is, “How were you supposed to help the girl not taken? There were no groups for that.”

This novel excels in its exploration of PTSD, as Meredith tries to claim her real life but, partially because of her survivor’s guilt, only succeeds in stepping into a false life, the one Lisa Bellow had been living. The blurring of the two girls’ lives, and the blurry of what Meredith knows and what she imagines, is mesmerizing. As Lisa falls off the edge of the news, Meredith struggles to keep her alive, even if she forces her story and her life to merge with Lisa’s.

In the immediate background of Meredith struggles is her brother Evan, whose eye was destroyed during a fluke accident during a baseball game. Evan strives to beat the odds and play baseball despite vision impairment that allows him to only see some movements, shapes and lights. Metaphorically, Meredith wrests with her own darkness, believing she sees shapes and movements of what really happened, but feeling blinded nonetheless.

Her dentist parents, Claire and Mark, are nicely rounded out, and their powerlessness in this unique and tragic situation is finely-rendered. Yet my interest in them was overshadowed by the story of their daughter, which pulled on me like a magnet. Each family member must ultimately wrestle with what his or her “real” life really feels like – Meredith most of all.

[Bandit · Rating 1 out of 5]

The main problem with this book is that it's misrepresented by its description. There is in fact zero suspense factor in it and, while there is indeed an abduction that takes place, this is not at all an abduction story. It's a drama, pretty bleak one at that, neither particularly interesting nor original, about the abduction's aftermath, primarily revolving around the teenage girl who didn't get abducted. It's all as poignant, overly sincere and compelling as an acoustic folk song...which for me is not at all. It isn't terribly written by any means, it's perfectly competent, neither compelling nor enjoyable of a read. Quick one, but a waste of time. Thanks Netgalley.

[Rachel León]

Thanks to Netgalley I was able to read an advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Sometimes a book's marketing can do a disservice for readers and those who hear "thriller" and comparisons to Emma Donoghue's ROOM will ultimately be disappointed with Susan Perabo's forthcoming novel, THE FALL OF LISA BELLOW. Those who ignore such comparisons and pick up this book--which I'd describe as not a thriller, but a literary novel--will enjoy it as there is indeed much to love.

The story focuses on Meredith Oliver, the youngest child of two dentists, and her family dealing with the aftermath of trauma. Meredith goes into a sandwich shop after school one day and a masked man with a gun enters. The man ultimately chooses to take Lisa Bellow, a popular girl whom Meredith hates, and leaves Meredith behind. The trauma Meredith experiences unfolds in the days and weeks after the abduction and has ripple effects on her family. Meredith's older brother is suddenly determined to play baseball again after an accident on the field left him blind in one eye. Meanwhile her mother is conflicted with relief, guilt, and the helpless feeling of being unable to protect her children. This story isn't so much about a kidnapping as much as an intimate, moving portrait of a family in crisis, making the novel more akin to Celeste Ng's EVERYTHING I NEVER TOLD YOU than ROOM. But this novel will be best enjoyed by pushing book comparisons aside and reading it for the beautiful searing story it is.

[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Initially, I was quite taken with this one, which revolves around the survivor quilt of an adolescent girl, Meredith, who was allowed to live following a hostage situation. The author has nailed the prevailing emotions of those early teen years! Although the term ‘middle school’ was after my time, I do remember the savagery of the ‘popular girls’, the cliques, the humiliations and feelings of inadequacy. The author captures how abruptly things change when a child crosses that threshold!

‘Turned out, what happened in elementary school stayed in elementary school. In sixth grade the playing field lurched to an impossible angle, How did it happen, the summer between fifth and sixth grade, how could it happen so abruptly that a level playing field could tilt so violently, tilt precisely like the Titanic, in a matter of hours the night before the first day of sixth grade?’

Meredith’s mother was Claire, and her plight was handled well, as the reader glimpsed her sense of helplessness in coping with an understandably changed Meredith. I liked other dynamics, too – Claire’s fierce, obvious love for her children, Meredith’s endearing older brother Evan and his efforts reach his sister even as he struggled with a huge challenge of his own.
However as novel progressed, with the protagonist Meredith reliving various scenarios which might have ensued, these became somewhat confusing and drawn out. And to me, the mother of the other girl, who was never found, wasn’t convincing. Palpable grief and depth of desperation just seemed absent, although she was indeed a pathetic character. Food for thought here, yes, and I’m glad I read it, but this won’t rank among my favorites. Almost four stars.