Day: November 4, 2020

There was some very clever plotting in this book.

It starts with a tragedy and then follows family and friends of the victim as they come to grips with the aftermath.

I thought it was interesting to get the perspectives from the people who knew Zoe (the victim). The author did a great job in illustrating how the perceptions we have of a person can be completely different depending on our relationship to them.

For example, Zoe’s mom, Lydia, remembers her daughter as any mom would – with affection, but with regret for the times she was harsh with Zoe. This does not jibe with the image of Zoe as related by her best friend, Shayna.

She remembers Zoe as someone who had changed recently and not necessarily for the better. Through Shayna’s eyes, we see that Zoe herself was a chameleon, putting on a different persona depending on who she was dealing with at the time.

I also found Bernadette’s (the teacher) view of Zoe to be interesting. As a former teacher, I could relate to how she felt about Zoe. Teachers often see sides of kids that the parents never do. That being said, Bernadette wasn’t all on the level either.

And then there’s the older sister, Jessie. Lydia has a difficult time being around her for various reasons, but Jessie has her own set of demons to deal with, especially as Lydia rejects her.

Of course, there’s also the question of what really happened to Zoe the night she disappeared and ended up dead.

All of this works together to make a compelling read. There were times that I felt it skewed young because of how much it dealt with teenage relationships and feelings, but I guess that was to be expected when the central character is a teenager.

This unflinching look at the masks we wear even with people we know best should not be missed.   

Author Bio:

Nicole Trope went to university to study Law but realised the error of her ways when she did very badly on her first law essay because, as her professor pointed out, ‘It’s not meant to be a story.’

She studied teaching instead and used her holidays to work on her writing career and complete a Masters’ degree. In between raising three children, working for her husband and renovating houses, she has published six novels. She lives in Sydney, Australia.