Marlena

Julie Buntin has done something quite special here: Write a novel that takes place in both the present and the past, that's about growing up and loss, that manages to honor that very tall order she sets for herself by managing to write her characters in different voices, reflective of who they are, where in the story. Present day Cat (protagonist) is pensive and sad, young Cat romanticizes via long sentences and ample metaphors, Cat near the end of her story in the past begins to sound much more like Cat in the present.

This is mid-career, 6th or 7th novel kinda stuff, after getting bashed about from bad reviews, and well growing up. This is Julie Buntin's first novel and she's already there.

This is a very sad book. About friendship, loss, addiction and growing up as a painful, awkward process. But I would recommend it to anyone who simply feels enlived by watching a beautifully written story unfold, to know that you are under the guide of a truly gifted writer sharing that gift with you. I can't wait to read whatever Julie Buntin does next.

I think this may be one of my favorites of 2017. So powerful, evocative, and nostalgia-inducing. This made me mourn the friendships I have lost over the years, and reminded me of how lonely I am without my BFF. This hit me on a visceral level. There's no other explanation for how I reacted to it.

Side note-this is me being super picky. I grew up in West Michigan, and spent many of my adolescent summers working in a little tourist town called Silver Lake. The Silver Lake in this book is NOT the Silver Lake, MI, that I know and I resent the lack of attention to detail. Or was that intentional? Anyway, my personal connection to the setting of the book contributed to my book hangover. And now I'm homesick. For the people, that is, not the place.

What. A. Book.