Title: All That Is Lost Between Us
Author: Sara Foster
Publisher: 1 February 2016 by Simon & Schuster (Australia)
Pages: 368 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: general fiction (adult), contemporary, suspense, family, drama
My Rating: 4.5 crowns
Synopsis:
A mother’s worst fears. A daughter in distress. A family falling apart.
Seventeen-year-old Georgia has a secret – one that is isolating her from everyone she loves. She is desperate to tell her best friend, but Sophia is ignoring her, and she doesn’t know why. Before she can find out, Sophia is left fighting for her life after a hit and run, with Georgia a traumatised witness.
As a school psychologist, Georgia’s mother, Anya, should be used to dealing with scared adolescents. However, it’s very different when the girl who needs help is your own child. Meanwhile, Georgia’s father, Callum, is wracked with a guilt he can’t share – and when her younger brother, Zac, stumbles on an unlikely truth, the family relationships begin to implode.
Georgia’s secret is about to go viral, leaving her in terrible danger. Can the family rise above the lies they have told and fight for what matters most of all?
The lies we tell for love are the most dangerous of all.
Set against the stark, rugged beauty of England’s Lake District,All That is Lost Between Us is a timeless thriller with a modern twist.
Seventeen-year-old Georgia has a secret – one that is isolating her from everyone she loves. She is desperate to tell her best friend, but Sophia is ignoring her, and she doesn’t know why. Before she can find out, Sophia is left fighting for her life after a hit and run, with Georgia a traumatised witness.
As a school psychologist, Georgia’s mother, Anya, should be used to dealing with scared adolescents. However, it’s very different when the girl who needs help is your own child. Meanwhile, Georgia’s father, Callum, is wracked with a guilt he can’t share – and when her younger brother, Zac, stumbles on an unlikely truth, the family relationships begin to implode.
Georgia’s secret is about to go viral, leaving her in terrible danger. Can the family rise above the lies they have told and fight for what matters most of all?
The lies we tell for love are the most dangerous of all.
Set against the stark, rugged beauty of England’s Lake District,All That is Lost Between Us is a timeless thriller with a modern twist.
My Thoughts
What a great read and totally unexpected. I was involved from the start and Foster kept my attention all the way through. I really did not want to be interrupted with this read and got through it in a few days. It is probably a good thing to mix up the genres you read, and this drama/suspense is not my usual go to. However, there is no denying, when you are onto something good - and this was good.
This book I would classify into a few genres in fact - fiction, drama, even young adult at times. And this was just the beginning of the many aspects of this read that I found to be appealing. This was a mystery at heart I guess, yet I would challenge it being termed a psychological thriller - suspenseful undoubtedly. What Foster does, is present a riveting family drama that conveys how easily one can lose track of things in the craziness of this life and drift away from what is really important.
"Then life took over, constricting us into one narrow pathway that was slowly overlaid with a movie reel of memories, the film eroding in places, our choices blurred with our forgotten dreams, our triumphs and our regrets."
Each chapter switches point of view - quite often a challenge in itself for many authors - but it was done really well. Foster gave you the opportunity to spend time with each family member and gain an understanding from their viewpoint. This leads to another plus, the complete realism of the issues covered - I challenge anyone reading this not to at some point, identify with a particular aspect. Yes, we are a family, yet at times, all living such separate lives.
"To all intents and purposes we experience life alone, so what right do we have to assume that genetics, a communal living space and an array of shared memories give us unfettered access to one another?"
The writing is at times, perfection. I literally paused, reflected, then read again before moving on. The setting of the novel in England's Lake District is vivid and beautifully descriptive. I loved learning all about the 'fells' - a perfect backdrop for this family drama to play against.
"I would walk the fells on rainy afternoons and feel as though I was lost inside a Turner painting - stumbling through history, being offered a small glimpse of eternity within this enduring piece of earth."
Finally one last appealing aspect is how well Foster captured the mindset of a tween, teen, mother/wife, father/husband after years of marriage, so well. You remembered well the life of being a teenager and then here I am now as a mother, identifying with her angst as her children grow up.
"I didn't realise how regularly your heart was wrenched by giving them their freedom ... each time this has happened I have said goodbye to some part of my children and to my ability to control their world and keep them safe."
All That is Lost Between Us is a MUST read family drama.
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.
1 comment:
What a great review, I hadn't heard of this one but it sounds fantastic. Definitely adding to my TBR list for this year. It has everything in it for me.
I also just read a book that can fit into a few genres.
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