Author: Brenda Novak
Series: None
Publication Date: September 17, 2024
Publisher: Mira
Pages: 368
Obtained: Publisher via Netgalley
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5
Bottom Line: Returning home is never easy but really not when you were involved in a scandal
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab
Summary: Despite their strained relationship, when Gia Rossi’s sister, Margot, begs her to come home to Wakefield, Iowa, to help with their ailing mother, Gia knows she has no choice. After her rebellious and at-times-tumultuous teen years, Gia left town with little reason to look back. But she knows Margot’s borne the brunt of their mother’s care and now it’s Gia’s turn to help, even if it means opening old wounds. As expected, Gia’s homecoming is far from welcome. There’s the Banned Books Club she started after the PTA overzealously slashed the high school reading list, which is right where she left it. But there is also Mr. Hart, her former favorite teacher. The one who was fired after Gia publicly and painfully accused him of sexual misconduct. The one who prompted Gia to leave behind a very conflicted town the minute she turned eighteen. The one person she hoped never to see again. When Margot leaves town without explanation, Gia sees the cracks in her sister’s “perfect” life for the first time and plans to offer support. But as the town, including members of the book club, takes sides between Gia and Mr. Hart, everything gets harder. Fortunately, she learns that there are people she can depend on. And by standing up for the truth, she finds love and a future in the town she thought had rejected her. ~amazon.com
Review: I have never read a Brenda Novak book, so I went in blind and I'm happy I did. This was a bit heavier subject matter than I expected even having read the summary but I was fully involved in Gia's coming back to her hometown.
Margot's own struggles and how badly she needed Gia home were front and center as well. I understood why she wasn't honest with her sister, they weren't really that close, but I wish she would have told her. Gia's past is almost immediately thrown upon her when she gets some of the people together at a local bar for Banned Books Club. Gia is tough and won't let people run her out of town again. She's been through a lot and is not the same person she was at 17. She also pulls a stunt to help Margot that put herself in danger and her family.
Margot is finally learning how to stand up for herself and become her own person. She's been stuck in a situation for so long that she has no other option but to disappear even when her own mom is dying. While Gia might have to be strong to come back home and face her past, Margot is the stronger one of the two given what she has to do.
The Banned Books Club is about facing the past, standing strong for your truth, family and moving on.
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