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Saturday, February 27, 2016

The Word Game by Steena Holmes




The story is well told and is a dilemma which most parents will never want to face. Do you back off when it is The subject of child abuse is very much around us these days. I wonder sometimes that it must have been happening decades ago but no one spoke about it, or they kept it hush hush as it was something that the victim had to be ashamed of. I am glad those days are behind us and from a very small age, children are taught what is appropriate or inappropriate behaviour. But what does one do when the perpetrator is someone who is close to you - part of the family.

Alyson and Tricia are close as adult sisters but certain chapters of their life are a closed book. Opening it is going to be painful. Both sisters have loving husbands and children whom they dote on. Alyson in particular is ultra protective of Lyla and wants her around all the time under her eagle eye. She knows what careless parenting can lead to and she is not going to let what happen to her happen to her only child.

On the first sleepover that Lyla goes to and that to, to her Aunt's house - an incident happens. This spirals into something deeper and darker than just childish pranks. The children are just ten, eleven and thereabouts but what divides the family is when Alyson takes matters into her own hands on a remark made by her daughter and springs into immediate action.
not your child involved? do you get involved in a situation where you know the backlash is going to be awful? do you pretend?  Very sensitively handling of a difficult subject, this is one author I will be looking out for in the future.

The book sent to me by Netgalley for an unbiased review, courtesy of Lake Union Publishing.

4 comments:

  1. I think I know someone who would like this one

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  2. I absolutely loved this one, thought the emotional hard topic was done with elegance.

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  3. Sounds like a good book but really difficult subject matter to read about. Thanks for your review!

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  4. Oh no, with little grandchildren, I don't think I could read this one.

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