Title: The Word Game
Author: Steena Holmes
Published: November 3, 2015 by Lake Union Publishing
Pages: 207
Source: Publisher via BookSparks
Rating: 3/5
Goodreads
For overprotective parent Alyson Ward, any time her daughter, Lyla, is out of sight is reason to panic. So it’s a big step for her when she lets Lyla attend a sleepover at her cousin’s house. Comforted by the knowledge that her sister, Tricia, is the chaperone, Alyson does the one thing she never thought possible: she lets go and trusts that her daughter will be safe.
But Alyson’s sense of peace is short lived. When Lyla comes home the next morning, she reveals something that could tear apart not only their family but also the entire community. Now, Alyson and Tricia must confront their painful shared past as they come together to help a little girl who they fear might be harboring terrible secrets similar to their own. Will the sisters be strong enough to face their demons in order to protect the child, even if it means telling their most private truths?
My review:
This book has an interesting, thought provoking storyline. How much do you believe when dealing with a child who makes incriminatiing revelations against someone you know? How about if your past has resulted in false accusations before? Who should you tell, when do you confront, and how do you go about it without hurting those involved? What about if there are conflicting stories? These are all questions that must be answered by Alyson, along with her sister Tricia. While I thought the plot of this book was excellent, it did lack depth in both writing and character development. It was a bit too simplistic to ever create a good flow, and while I did want to continue reading to find out how it ended, it got a bit boring as I waited for the resolution. It's a short book, and I'm wondering if perhaps a longer book would have necessitated better character development?
A+ for topic, but sub par writing brought this one down a bit for me. If you can overlook the lack of depth with this one, it does create a great "what would you do, and who would you believe" story.
This was part of the BookSparks Fall Reading Challenge. Click on the link to see what this program is about.
Ugh! Sorry to hear that the writing was a letdown! Otherwise, I might have picked this book up.
It's a really quick read at just around 200 pages, so if you are interested in the subject matter, it doesn't take long to read, and therefore I didn't feel like I invested a lot of time. I did enjoy the plot.