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Publication Date: March 9, 2023
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Genre: Psychological Fiction
ISBN: 9781639887705
List Price: $17.99 Paperback
Page Count: 290
D’Amato uses her intriguing premise to explore trauma, substance and alcohol abuse, and the meaning of family in her engrosisng novel. When an unfortunate event forces ten-year-old Paul to flee his dysfunctional home in White Plains, leaving his younger sister, Bethany, behind, he finds comfort and love in his estranged father’s apple orchard in Oswego. But little Bethany never recovers from the shock. She soon finds herself in foster care. Her inner disquiet slowly turns into rage, leading her on a path of recklessness and destruction. As young children, the sibling pair’s behavior strains credibility, but still the cast is memorable, particularly Bethany, who as a little girl goes through extremely traumatic experiences and struggles as an adult to find some sort of purpose in life. D’Amato unravels her characters’ secrets and motivations slowly, expertly increasing the pace before the satisfying conclusion. Grounding her premise in convincing human motivations and behavior, she balances the painful details of her protagonists’ reality with genuine hope for new beginnings. The pacing is measured, and the story stays grounded in authentic interpersonal dynamics and a thought-provoking exploration of sibling love, emotional and sexual abuse, dysfunctional families, how childhood trauma leaves long-lasting scars, and how to cope with their pain, people sometimes embrace the most irrational behaviors. Poignant and hard-hitting.
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Categories: Fiction
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