The Last Good Day of the Year

De: Jessica Warman

Narrado por: Elizabeth Evans

Ten years ago, seven-year-old Samantha and her next door neighbor Remy watched helplessly as Sam's little sister was kidnapped. Later, Remy and Sam identified the man and he was sent to prison.

Now, Sam's shattered family is returning to her childhood home in an effort to heal. As long-buried memories begin to surface, she and Remy wonder what they really saw. The more they re-examine the events of that fateful night, the more questions they have about what happened to Turtle... and they become more certain that Turtle's killer is still out there, hidden amongst the members of their tight-knit community.

Master storyteller Jessica Warman keeps listeners guessing in an arresting pause register that questions whether the potential for evil lurks within us all.

©2015 Jessica Warman (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Amazing book

I could not stop reading! This book is amazing and has a great thrilling story line.

headline

I really like the story but I prefer actually seeing the words to understand it.

Sam

I wish we knew how the story ended for Sam & Remy but I guess it never does.

Compelling

Grade: B+

Ten years ago, in the early hours of New Year’s Day, seven-year-old Samantha and her next door neighbor, Remy, watched as a man broke into Sam’s home and took her younger sister, Turtle, from her sleeping bag. Remy and Sam, too afraid to intervene at the time, later identified the man as Sam’s sister Gretchen’s much older ex-boyfriend, Steven, who was sent to death row for Turtle’s murder. Now, Sam and her family have moved back to the home from where Turtle disappeared and she starts to wonder if she can trust her memories.

THE LAST GOOD DAY OF THE YEAR pulled me in from the first paragraph in a way that screams, this is a special story. Samantha's narration switches from 1986, when Turtle was abducted, and 1996, when Sam and her family move back to their small PA town, I guess teens might see this as a period piece, pre-social media when having the Internet was optional. Since Turtle's disappearance, Sam has always been the "good daughter" to her preoccupied parents, but within her thoughts are layers of complexity and angst. I wouldn't characterize TLGDOTY as a thriller as much as a character study of the impact of a little girl's kidnapping and presumed murder on Sam, her family and her neighborhood. Although I didn't finish on one sitting, I had a hard time putting down my kindle. What kept me from giving TLGDOTY an A was the ending was fairly ambiguous and I felt like readers deserved more. I also wish there has been a few more clues earlier on. That's about all I can say without giving anything away

I'm a Jessica Warman fan and THE LAST GOOD DAY OF THE YEAR is her best work yet. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. I think most readers teen and adult women will enjoy this novel.

THEMES: family, kidnapping, secrets, coming of age

ETA: I enjoyed the audiobook too.