A very short, but powerful graphic novel about a young girl coming to terms with a death of a family member.

Beautiful, touching and heartbreaking are a few words that come to mind when thinking of this story.

This was hard to read. I was crying at the halfway point and really sobbing at the end. I could put myself in the little girl's shoes. Death is a thing I never can quite wrap my head around and it really terrified me as a kid and even as an adult. I loved the art style. I loved that the little girl used her imagination to help her deal with her loss.

This story would be good for any young person going through something similar. It could help them understand death and that their loved one did not abandon them.

*Provided by Netgally*

This is a character-driven book that packs a hard punch.

The story is about a young man who helps an older woman make a road trip from New Orleans to Nashville.

Once underway we begin to understand the young man, and why he is disillusioned and lost. He is strangely drawn to the family he is helping, but doesn't quite see the danger he is in.

Something of a loose cannon, the woman begins to get under the young man's skin. And lacking the wherewithal to deal with it, tension mounts to an explosive conclusion.

The prose is a times very poetic, the book is atmospheric and the drama very exciting.

I've got a little review for you today, though the review is small, I have a large love of this book! There are just some books where I can't exactly put my thoughts properly on paper.

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I am forever changed from reading this book. It is beyond a doubt one of the most fascinating book I have ever read. I found this to be heartbreaking, I cried during several parts.

This is something that I never knew about before I read this and I am so shocked I did not even have vague knowledge of Henrietta Lacks and what her cells (HeLa) have done.

I believe this book should be required reading in schools and for anyone who is even remotely connected to the science or medical field. Even if you are not connected to those fields, this is a must read book.

A Mother’s Secret is a rich tapestry of life’s stories, telling the heart-breaking tale of love, loss and loneliness. Despite all the pain, regret and anger, the author still manages to fill the reader with the feeling of hope, and dreams of second chances and new beginnings. Read every beautiful word, watch as each intricate stitch brings this remarkable tapestry together, enabling you to cherish it for years to come.

My heart still aches for this book. For the sensational world I have been a part of for the last few days. For the wonderful strong women who became my companions. I shed a tear for those women, not only for the hardships they went through, but for what I went through with them. They are all a part of me now, having shared their grief, pain, anger, love, secrets and ambitions.

I’m a sensitive soul, at one with nature. I don’t just see things. I need to touch and smell them. Sometimes these senses can be lost in a book, but Renita D’Silva has a magical way of bringing everything to life. I don’t just see the words she has written. I feel them, smell them, and taste them. At one point in the book, I even sneezed, due to sniffing too many spices. I love using as many senses to experience things. That's why I find this descriptive writing style so wonderfully beautiful.

If anyone asks me whether I have been to India, I can answer “Yes, I have. In the beautifully descriptive books written by talented author, Renita D’Silva.” Should I ever have the fortune of visiting India one day, I truly believe I will have the sensation of having been there before, thanks to this author’s books. Perhaps I will stumble across my very own ruin of a mansion, full of heartbreak and hope.

Reading a book by Renita D’Silva is a whole physical experience. I hope that anyone who chooses to read this will take their time and make the most of the colourful world that is truly brought to life within these pages. Take in your surroundings and allow yourself to be wholeheartedly absorbed by this beautiful book.

I haven’t said a lot about the plot of this story, as I want you to experience it in the way I did, not knowing how the story was going to progress, wishing for some things, surprised by others. I felt love for many of the characters. I also felt frustration and sadness at the blame, bitterness and self-destruction of the characters. This story really did take me through all possible emotions. I hope your journey through this book is as intense and memorable as mine.

Below are a few of my favourite quotes that give you an idea of Renita D’Silva’s beautiful and imaginative writing style:

“Durga blinks, seeing a cluster of cottages mushrooming from pebble-peppered earth, flanked by velvet fields, and, glowering from the top of the only hill, an old ruin.”

“We taste the darkness, inky and flavoured with shadows, spiced with intrigue.”

“The crows scatter in a demonic cackle, a constellation of black-winged foreboding, upsetting the grazing cows, setting the dogs howling.”

“I open my mouth to the heavens, sampling the fruit-scented, hope flavoured drops and laugh, for the first time since that day when my world shattered.”

Finally, before reading this book, I never thought I’d have a visual image for “bible-wielding shadows”, but I now do. It made me smile.

I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy emotionally heart-breaking, yet also heart-warming tales of the struggles life puts the human soul through, and full of characters that are so well developed and believable they come to life before you.

I would like to thank the publisher, Bookouture for allowing me a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Speak came out over a decade ago, it was ground breaking because of the way it dealt with teen sexuality. 16 years later, it is still relevant and continues to change lives because it isn’t afraid to tell the story of a teenager who had real problems and real reactions to them.

Melinda doesn’t have a whole cast of friends to rely on. She doesn’t have parents to rely on. When she called the police at the party at the end of the summer, she lost her friends and she is stuck all by herself not knowing how to deal with what happened.

In that way, Melinda’s character is heartbreakingly realistic. But, Melinda also has a certain wit that makes her more than just a character to which a ‘bad thing’ happened. It makes Melinda a character worth knowing and someone you want to cheer for.

This book also deals with rape in a way that I think is realistic. It doesn’t dramatize it (this may be the wrong word to use but I don't know how to better express myself) but rather approaches it in a way that shows the reality of it. There are some things that were a little iffy but I am not going to go into detail because SPOILERS.

This book wasn’t perfect, though. I did think there were things that happened towards the end that were perhaps too easy but at the same time, worked. I also wished that we weren’t cut off from one scene towards the end of the book because it was the most important in my opinion.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I am so glad I finally read it after having it on my to-be-read list for ages.