This follows the lives of several people in the same town. It's told from all of their points of view, all different ages. There are secrets and self-discoveries, sweet parts, sad scenes. Mysteries and relationships play the biggest parts. It kept me interested.

So this book in the end did not live up to the hype I kept seeing all over the place with it. With shifting perspectives (there were six people to track in this book) and the author choosing to make 5 out of 6 told in the third person there was way too much going on for me to even really care about all of these characters.

In addition, due to the plethora of characters, the development of almost all of these characters was shallow. The only exception to this was the character of Cailey. Ms. Whalen shines when she tells Cailey's POV in the first person. Maybe if she had stuck with her throughout this book it would have worked better.

The book goes from Memorial Day through August 2014 in Sycamore Glen, North Carolina. With everything that is going on with North Carolina right now I thought how weird it was the book I finally got around to reading was set there.

The book is told in the third person point of view by these characters: Everett and Bryte (long time best friends and husband and wife) Jencey (former best friend to Bryte and high school girlfriend of Everett), Zell (neighbor of Everett and Bryte and Lance), Lance (neighbor of Zell, Everett, and Bryte).

The author chose to have the character of Cailey (pre-teen) told in the first person.

We have a lot of unexplained tension between Everett, Bryte, and Jencey. The backstory behind these three was boring as anything. Bryte was always secretly in love with Everett and jealous of Jencey. Once Jencey had to move away, Bryte and Everett got together. Now that Jencey is back home, Bryte feels jealous of her previous relationship with Everett.

Jencey is home with her two daughters trying to deal with the fallout from her marriage.

Lance is dealing with the fact that his wife Debra has walked out on him and his two children.

Zell is feeling guilty regarding something dealing with Lance's wife (it was a doozy and I ended up hating this character even more by the time the book was finished) and helps out Lance with his two kids.

Cailey feels out of sorts in the new neighborhood she and her mother and brother have moved into. Since her mother works all of the time, it is up to Cailey to watch her younger brother Cutter. She wishes that their house looked like all of the other houses nearby and feels very set apart from the nice houses with families that surround them.

The characters meet at the local pool and from there after a tragic incident, they find themselves thrown together. I wish that we had got any sense of these people by the time the book ended.

The storyline between Everett and Bryte was pretty awful. I just kept reading and shaking my head. And in the end, things are forgiven though most people would need more than a few hours to shake off the revelations that Everett found out about his wife. And what gets me is that I think the author is portraying Bryte as noble. Instead, Bryte really needs to see a therapist or someone. Because her justifications for everything that she were messed up. She is in love with her husband (yeah okay girl) and she still feels like she's in a competition with a friend she hasn't even seen in years, who she apparently gloats over because she got the guy. Bah.

Jencey I felt for a little bit. Because her life is turn upside down. She also had to move away from her home and the boy she loved because of circumstances outside of her control. I wanted to see a reawaken of this character, a sense of her growing up and realizing that all that glitters is not gold (she was a wealthy man's wife) and get a sense of who she is. Instead we have her running around crushing on someone that is still technically married. The "relationship" that she and Lance had didn't do a thing for me. It felt like she was replacing him with her absent husband because she needed someone to be strong for her.

Lance was a waste of a character. A few times he had some insights into maybe why his wife left, but once Jencey comes on the scene that is all over. He is focused on getting the girl and does not seem to be around much to actually father his two kids.

Zell annoyed me from beginning to end. She has a secret she knows about Debra and once readers are privy to it, I ended up feeling sorry for Debra. Probably because in one of Zell's chapters we are flashbacked to an incident several years before Debra leaves when one of the children is hurt. She bares her soul to Zell about how overwhelmed she is, how she just needs a second or two to herself. That her husband doesn't get it, and he gets to get away from it at least. I felt Debra in that moment and felt sympathetic to her. Maybe because two of my best friends recently had something similar going on with them. They are the best mothers that I know, but they constantly beat up on themselves when they are tired or want alone time from their husbands and kids. They beat up on themselves when they get sick and don't want to kick dinner. I don't know why women do this to ourselves, but I wish that we all gave ourselves and each other breaks.

Cailey just wants to belong, and for a few moments during the summer she does when she gets to interact with other kids and Zell.

We also have some secondary characters, local neighborhood people as well as Zell's husband who barely seems to be around.

A lot of neighborhood mysteries get solved, but the resolutions didn't really ring true (especially regarding Jencey) and I had a hard time believing that any of these people would interact with each other.

The writing was just okay. The flow was awful though. Each chapter was maybe 2-3 pages long and you would jump to another character. Why the author chose to have 5 characters "speak" in the third person boggles my mind. At least there are chapter headings to keep people straight, because the women's voices all started to blur after a while. It didn't help that many of the children seemed to be seen and not heard except for Cailey. I wanted more interaction between all of the characters and their families. These people seemed to talk to each other for maybe ten minutes and move to another scene.

If the book synopsis didn't say that this took place in North Carolina, I would have had no idea. This feels like a faceless suburban neighborhood with no real personality. I don't expect characters to talk "Southern" but there was no real difference between this town and many others.

The ending was wrapped up with everyone practically skipping through gardens together. There are no real discussions to be had, and things that would kill most normal and healthy relationships are ignored. I will probably pass on future books by this author.

By:  Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

ISBN:9781503936072

Publisher: Lake Union 

Publication Date: 9/1/2016 

Format: Paperback

My Rating:  5 Stars  

 

A special thank you to Lake Union and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Marybeth Mayhew Whalen pulls you into an all American contemporary neighborhood, with dark secrets and lies, seems everyone is hiding something in her latest: THINGS WE WISH WERE TRUE –a Southern charmer looks beneath the pristine exteriors of this friendly North Carolina neighborhood.

In this idyllic Matthews, NC suburban neighborhood Sycamore Glen, everyone meets at the neighborhood pool. There is much depth here – a character driven emotional tale, the author references her inspiration behind the book, which I enjoyed reading.

A perfect Labor Day Weekend Southern read. An ideal choice for book clubs and further discussions (questions included).

Written from multiple contrasting perspectives, starting Memorial Day Weekend 2014, we hear from a variety of characters: Cailey, Zell, Lance, Bryte, and Jencey. At the neighborhood pool.

The opening day for the summer. We continue hearing from each character from May-August. Slowly the characters’ lives are unraveled, and their pasts exposed. Things that threaten lives and relationships.

Cailey, lived in a house which the neighbors hated. People thought they were white trash. Cutter’s dad was in prison. She herself did not have a father, or one she had ever met. Even though the neighborhood sign said: “We’re All Family Here.”, was not true for them.

Driving past all the pretty houses filled her with hope and possibly they would have a better life one day. She lived with her son Cutter and her mom. She did not like people saying bad things about her mom. Even though Cutter could not swim very well and the people ignored them, she liked the pool.

Bryte grew up in Sycamore Glen, always longing for the boy taken by her best friend. Later she has it all, but behind her happiness is a big secret. She is desperate to keep her secret; however, before the book ends, it will come to the surface and stare her in the face, threatening to destroy her relationship and everything she tried desperately to protect.

Jencey grew up in Sycamore Glen and seemed to have it all. She left without an explanation. Years later she returns and causes many questions. Zell always helps out and lends support to others. She also has secrets. She has a sense of emptiness and would give anything to go back to the chaos of a young family.

Lane, a single dad needs to find a babysitter or he is going to lose his job. He had to stop depending on the neighbor lady, Zell. She was always like a fairy godmother. He loved watching sports and drinking beer. Debra was gone and he was holding things together. He was doing the best he could.

Heartfelt, each person has a lesson to be learned, a loss; and most of all a book about redemption; having the courage to start over, and dive back into the things which scare us the most. A fitting title and a perfect cover with the window panes.

Do you really know your neighbors? What lurks behind closed doors.

A tragedy occurs at the beginning of summer, and slowly more secrets rise to the surface. A boy and a girl are the ones to teach the others some important lessons. So, while what doesn’t kill you, can make you stronger, you can ease the suffering of going through it by learning to accept what is.

As a native of Charlotte, NC (Lake Norman/Davidson area), am very familiar with the Matthews, NC area, and the author does a stunning job of portraying the Southern lifestyle, especially in North Carolina.

From domestic suspense, relatable characters, a compelling read which draws you into a their world of pain, loss, fear, hope, and dreams. Exposing the facades, from a range of ages – from young- old, readers will be drawn into the personal lives of each character, glued to the pages.

My first book by the author, and was quite impressed with the author’s winning style. From the vivid settings to the characters most intimate thoughts. In addition to the digital advanced reading copy, happened to be traveling and also purchased the audiobook (ironically flying from Greensboro, NC back to Florida).

The narrator, Taylor Ann Krahn was a perfect Southern match for Whalen! I was so engrossed in this book, was hanging on her every word. A narrator can make or break a book, and Krahn’s voice was spellbinding. Hoping more Southern authors will feature her for an engaging performance.

Triumph over tragedy with many takeaways. For fans ofCatherine Ryan Hyde, Paula Treick DeBoard, Diane Chamberlain, and Barbara Claypole White.

Looking forward to more by this talented author!

“There were the things she wished were true, and there was what was actually true. She was learning that there was usually a great distance between the two.”

JDCMustReadBooks