After all these years, I have been blessed with the knowledge that JAMES HAILLER IS A TALKER DURING SEX AND I WILL NEVER GET OVER THIS BECAUSE THAT IS THE MOST JIMMY THING EVER.

And I'm happy, so so happy because (and I'm combining Pacey Witter and Adam Wilde quotes here) the simple act of knowing that he's somewhere out there, alive, is enough for me right now. So I don't care how long it takes for MM to write the full book because I will wait until the end of time (although I'm sure I'll be tweeting otherwise at 1am sometime in the near future).

Also, Shoeboxes was creepy as fuck. Please read In The Skin Of A Monster if you haven't already kthanksbye.

Quick review for a progressive read. It's hard to describe my reactions to this novel, because, on one hand, this is quite apt to Melina Marchetta's style of writing - strong characterizations, compelling family-centered stories, and emotional revelations on the topics she touches upon (particularly with respect to race, violence, prejudice, etc.) I enjoyed the journey this novel took me on for the most part, even as it handed down its revelations progressively rather than in one felt swoop like the magnitude of the crime(s) this book centers upon.

It took me quite a while to get into this novel, and there's a large cast of characters within this narrative to keep track of. Hence why the pacing feels like it crawls in sections of the novel, but on the whole of things, this is a powerful novel with more of a focus on the people who are caught within these tragedies/mysteries.

Bish is a suspended inspector whose daughter is among the victims of a bus bombing. Although his daughter isn't hurt, Bish learns that a young woman whom he'd encountered many years before is at the center of suspects surrounding the bus bombing: Violette LeBrac. His journey to not only find Violette but determine who was behind the bombing takes him to many places and uncovers many difficult situations in Bish's own past. Other major characters include Bee, Bish's daughter, Violette, who struggles to maintain her own innocence despite the fact her mother and other members of her family were charged in a bombing that took several lives years before; Noor LeBrac, Violette's mother and a complex character in her own right - reluctant to help Bish, but it's clear she cares for her daughter and family greatly.

I wish the presentation of the novel had been more smooth for transition and consistency in narrative voices. The stories in this novel were powerful and impactful, ones that definitely stood out to me long after I finished the novel, but there were times when the narrative threw me out for the sheer length of time and amount of stories packed into the narrative itself.

Overall score: 3.5/5 stars.

Marchetta does not play around with small potatoes: fifteen years after a notorious terrorist bomb explodes in London everyone who was in any way involved is forced to reexamine their previous assumptions when a bomb goes off on the bus of a group of British teens touring France. After reading The Lumatere Chronicles I knew she was brilliant on aftermath, on exile, and PTSD, and divided loyalties, and complex characters with nothing but hard choices to make. But that was fantasy intended for a YA audience. This one prominently features teen characters, but focuses on the adults and is being marketed to an adult audience. Nineteenth century novelists often tackled such hard subjects with such diverse casts, but they would publish twice as many pages, too. She leaves Hugo and Dickens in the excessively detailed weather reports and makes Dan Brown’s puzzles look like dot-to-dots. This is the novel to drive through the heart of any simplistic notions about race, ethnicity, religion, and terrorism.

Library copy

When I requested this book on Netgalley I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. From the first page I was sucked into the story and couldn't put it down. This story follows Bish, a suspended police officer, who ends up investigating the bombing of his daughter's bus when she was on a trip to France. The investigation threatens up when they find out that one of the students on the bus is the granddaughter of a man that set a bomb of in a supermarket. Her mother is currently in jail for making the bomb.

I really liked Bish throughout this book. Even with the problems he was dealing with in his life I felt that he was the most likeable throughout the book. I didn't like his weird attraction to Noor though. I found myself a bit annoyed with the teenage characters as they seemed to hide things and lie for stupid reasons only they could understand.

When it was revealed who was behind the bombing and why they did it I did feel a teeny bit letdown but Bish's actions did kind of make up for that. Ultimately I did enjoy the ending and where each character ended up.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the galley.