Hey, everyone. I'm getting better at my recordkeeping. I know that Lisa recommended this book to me! I listened to Stealing by Margaret Verble as an audiobook. It was narrated by DeLanna Studi.
In this book, we are reading Kit Crockett's diary entries as she recounts how she lived with her father after her mother died, developed a friendship with a neighbor woman named Bella, and eventually was sent to a residential boarding school after a terrible incident happens. At her foster home and at the residential boarding school, Kit is horribly abused, physically, emotionally, and sexually.
One of the first reviews on Goodreads says that the descriptions of sexual violence were more than the reader could take and while I don't disbelieve that reader, I also feel like this was nothing compared to Hamnet. Regardless, do take care if you are a sensitive reader.
I thought this was really good. The novel does an exceptional job of exposing the hypocrisy of taking a child from a loving family and putting her in a position to be unconscionably abused. It shows the heartbreaking reality of residential boarding schools and doesn't shy away from putting the blame of their consequences directly on those responsible (white people, some of whom may well have been well-meaning, but many of whom were most definitely not).
I thought the ending was puzzling, to be honest. If you don't mind an ambiguous ending with lots of unanswered questions, I'm sure you'll find this to be a fabulous read. If that's the sort thing you might knock off a star in your review because it's annoying, well, just be forewarned. 4/5 stars
Line of note:
...I wasn't used to being around a lot of laughter and it made me feel good. There's just so much grief a person can take. (timestamp 1:11:04)
When my late MIL was dying, I can remember some drives home when my husband and I were nearly hysterical. It was just another way of releasing the tension.
Hat mentions:
She also had on a hat with a little net on it. (timestamp 52:38)
I am glad that you liked this one, although "liked" is a odd word to use for something that deals with such a heavy and sad topic. I really appreciated the book. I don't love an ambiguous ending so that did bother me a bit, but I still gave this one 5 stars!
ReplyDeleteIt was such a compelling listen for me. I couldn't stop. It was so heartbreaking, but I had to know how it all turned out for Kit. Thanks again for the rec.
DeleteWell... this does sound compelling. I'll have to see if it's at our library.
ReplyDeleteIt was available as an audiobook immediately at my library, so hopefully it's in your library's collection.
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