Glimpse, by Carol Lynch Williams

Glimpse, by Carol Lynch Williams

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Abuse, Mystery

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Publication: June 22, 2010, by Simon & Schuster

Format: Hardcover (borrowed)





Goodreads Summary: In one moment,

it is over.

In one moment

it is gone.

The morning grows

thin, grey

and our lives-

how they were-

have vanished.

Our lives have

changed

when I walk in

on Lizzie

my sister

holding a shotgun.

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.

With raw and haunting writing reminiscent of Ellen Hopkins and Elizabeth Scott, Carol Lynch Williams is a promising new YA voice.

Review:

   Carol Lynch Williams is one amazing author. Her words captivate me and reading her books through poetry is the best experience that a reader can have. A lot of people don't enjoy poetry in YA books and think that grammar and spelling is important to captivate readers but I think the opposite: reading YA books through poetry is amazing! Better yet, reading this book through poetry is amazing. The concept and plot matches perfectly with the words and this author is great at making me cry, as well. :)

      "There's an animal in my throat that wants to scream its way out. It could tear my throat apart, I think."

       This is a very difficult book to read. You have to have the feeling and you need to be able to go through the vibe that this author creates. It is mixed with many concepts that are combined in one-- suicide, depression, abuse, and seeing all of that happening to one family is so sad and tears me up when thinking about it.

         This is about fourteen year old Lizzie who tries to commit suicide, but her sister catches her about to do it, and Liz is suddenly taken into the hospital where she is looked after. Hope, her sister, is trying to figure out what's the mystery behind her crazy mother and her sister's action... and why she's the one that no one loves.

  

           I'm just going to say that this is the type of story that you're going to cry for because of how the emotions are written so deeply and beautifully and because how bad you will feel for Hope. Her scenario is truly heart-breaking and I seriously don't know what I would do in her situation. It's the type of situation that you just cannot put yourself in because it's so horrible and destructive.

            This plot was very moving and fast paced. So much was happening and every chapter left us wanting more. It was very difficult for me to leave this book down for even the slightest minute. It was so beautiful all throughout and so captivating.

             My only slight problem was Hope. She was too easy and too loving to her mother when she was practically verbally abusing her, and this made me so sad because she was letting her mother act this way to her and she didn't do anything about it! If she got that boost up maybe she would've been more confident and would've known what to do.

              Overall, the book was amazing. The ending was very light and open, although I do wish that we found out what happened to the sisters later on because we all want to see them happy and free!