Review: The Shadows We Know by Heart by Jennifer Park
SYNOPSIS:
Leah Roberts’s life has never been the same since her brother died ten years ago. Her mother won’t stop drinking, her father can’t let go of his bitter anger, and Leah herself has a secret she’s told no one: Sasquatch are real, and she’s been watching a trio of them in the woods behind her house for years.
Everything changes when Leah discovers that among the Sasquatch lives a teenager. This alluring, enigmatic boy has no memory of his past and can barely speak, but Leah can’t shake his magnetic pull. Gradually, Leah’s life entwines with his, providing her the escape from reality she never knew she needed.
But when Leah’s two worlds suddenly collide in a deadly showdown, she uncovers a shocking truth as big and extraordinary as the legends themselves, one that could change her life forever.
From debut author Jennifer Park comes a haunting and luminous exploration of love, grief, and the dangerous lies that can bind—or break—us.
REVIEW:
*Book Received in Exchange for Honest Opinion/Review*
This book was unique, weird, and interesting. I was intrigued enough to want to know how the story played out. Weirded out by the concept of sasquatches living in the woods and overall the entire plot line while simultaneously too transfixed to put the book down. I’m just sort of sitting here reflecting on the book and saying to myself, “Huh, so yeah, I just read that.” and to be honest, I still don’t know how I feel.
While the author makes a ploy for this to be a Tarzan/Jane retelling, there is too many secondary things going on in the plot for that to be the case. There is your typical high school drama and then the whole can of worms with bigfoots and a mysterious boy living in the woods. For the sake of not spoiling the plot, let me just say that the book is also filled with controlling, lying, manipulative parents, lost siblings, plot twists and an ending filled with a lot of questions.
I think that is my biggest pet peeve of all with this story. While the concept was refreshing, the execution could have used some finessing. But I loathe an open ending where I am left with more questions than answers. Will the wild boy ever return? What happened to Bee? What happened to the large bigfoot? What happened to the family dynamic and the friend dynamic? The ending felt very abrupt and I need closure!
As a character, I liked Leah, I felt that she really came into her own over the course of the story. I also enjoyed the sibling relationship she shared with Matt, it was obvious that they deeply cared for each other and had each other’s backs. I didn’t really care for Ben, which if you read the book, you will understand why. And Ashley was a moody, wild-card, I never knew what version of her personality I was going to get. Needless to say this book had a lot going on. Another classic case of great idea, poor execution.
LINKS:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
