Friday, September 9, 2016

The Things We Wish Were True by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

Paperback, 276 pages
Expected publication: September 1st 2016 by Lake Union Publishing

The Things We Wish Were True by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen  is part of the SheReads Summer book selections.     SheReads is a community of bloggers that as a group help promote specific books.   We share reviews, thoughts, and our feelings after reading books suggested to us by the wonderful people who run the SheReads Organization.  
In an idyllic small-town neighborhood, a near tragedy triggers a series of dark revelations.
From the outside, Sycamore Glen, North Carolina, might look like the perfect all-American neighborhood. But behind the white picket fences lies a web of secrets that reach from house to house.
Up and down the streets, neighbors quietly bear the weight of their own pasts—until an accident at the community pool upsets the delicate equilibrium. And when tragic circumstances compel a woman to return to Sycamore Glen after years of self-imposed banishment, the tangle of the neighbors’ intertwined lives begins to unravel.
During the course of a sweltering summer, long-buried secrets are revealed, and the neighbors learn that it’s impossible to really know those closest to us. But is it impossible to love and forgive them?
My Thoughts…

I have read a lot of small town stories, this one is a small neighborhood story.   It is the type of neighborhood that everyone wants to live in.   You know your neighbors, you know their families, and everyone comes together to help each other out.    There is a lot of drama and even more heart within the neighbor’s story.  

Jencey and Bryte were best friends until Jencey moved away.    They both want to reconnect yet there are somethings they just cannot talk about.     This relationship was the most interesting to me.    The boyfriends/husbands, the kids, and the secrets all were things that they needed to discuss in more depth than just how’s it going conversation.     Yet, something was keeping them from having this discussion.     This is something I believe most friends can relate to on some level when they move away or just grow apart.    The reconnection is not easy and takes work from both parties. 

There were many more happenings within the story.   The drama involved everyone in the neighborhood and more than once a story was revealed and I was shocked that I didn’t see it coming.     The last shocker was my favorite.     It was the ending I hoped for and was sure I was not going to get. 

I recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun story with relatable characters and a story that you hope won’t ever end.  

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