One Girl Collecting: Book Review: Glimpse, Carol Lynch Williams

From the Cover: "Just a year apart, the Chapman girls were as close as sisters could be. Hope could always count on Lizzie, and Lizzie could always count on Hope -- always. But even sisters have secrets. BIG Secrets. And if Lizzie has her way, she'll take the biggest secret of all to her grave. With Lizzie in lockdown can Hope discover the truth and save her sister, or is it already too late?"

This novel-in-verse is told through the eyes of Hope, the younger of two sisters, as she tries to piece together "when it all went wrong." The story starts out with her walking in on her sister Lizzie, holding a shotgun - the point where everything changes in Hope's life. The fact that this book starts out with a suicide attempt should tell you the tone of the book, but initially, we are as confused as Hope as to what is going on. As Lizzie is taken away, and we watch Hope slowly put the pieces together, we begin to see glimpses into the life she has with her protective sister, abusive mother, and caring friends. Even if she doesn't quite understand what all the pieces mean, we (the reader) do.

In the end, we are left, just in real life, without a resolution (there's no Harry Potter defeating the bad guy) - but all the building blocks are there for these two girls to heal, so we are left feeling hopeful.

This is not as dark a read as Go Ask Alice or Cruddy (which both left me feeling pretty cruddy), even though the subject matter is just as dark. Glimpse gives us glimpses into an abusive life, but it also leaves us with a sense of Hope (dualistically).

I highly recommend this book. For parents of teen-agers, I would suggest reading it with your child (as I would with any book dealing with harder topics). I'd also recommend this book for anyone who likes novels-in-verse, and designers & typophiles (typography lovers).