ARC Tour & Review: Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams

Twelve year old girl Hope's life is turned upside down when her older sister Lizzie becomes an elective mute and is institutionalized after trying to kill herself. Ever since their dad died Hope and Lizzie have relied on each other from a young age. Their mother is a reluctant and unreliable parent at best, who turns tricks to support the family. Throughout the course of this lyrical and heartbreaking narrative readers and Hope discover shocking truths and it's up to Hope to bring the truth to light to save her sister.

As an English major I had my fair share of classes who's required reading lists included quite a good amount of work written in verse.  I admit that I never really enjoyed it much.  It could have been for any number of reasons, I may have been too immature to grasp the beauty of it, it could have been because it was simply required, or maybe because it was the fact that I had a time deadline that I needed to stick to, but either way I stayed away from it after graduation.  Maybe I just don't have a lyrical soul?  I hope that's not the reason.  But this year I have found myself reading quite a bit of verse voluntarily.  Is this a new trend in young adult literature?  This is my third tour book written in verse and I was once again unsure if I would enjoy it.  I think this book could have been written another way or in a different format but I also think a lot of the powerful emotions behind the words comes out so strongly simply because of the formatting Carol Lynch Williams chose to work with.

Hope is a young girl who comes to find her older sister Lizzie attempting to commit suicide.  Lizzie is placed in a mental hospital and Hope is left with her mother and no clue as to what could have driven her sister to take such drastic actions.  I've never felt such hatred and disgust for a character the way I did towards Hope and Lizzie's mom.  If you give this book a chance, you'll come to understand why I have these extreme feelings toward the woman.  Hope comes to learn that Lizzie kept a journal and the story becomes a race between Hope and her mother to find the journal before the other does.  It's a tough read emotionally to make your way through, but Williams will amaze readers with her ability to weave such a deep and moving story together with such ease and flow.  This is not a light read but one that I think worthy of a reader's time and energy.

I gave Glimpse 3 shamrocks!!!