Thanks to Merit Press via edelweiss for the advance copy of this. I’d read mixed reviews, so I’m afraid this languished on my kindle for a while as I wanted to be in the right mood for this before I read it.
The story is set in a small village and focuses on a tight-knit group of friends. One of them, Lorna, is swept off the breakwater one night and her remains are not found. While life goes on, for those left behind – Jackie, Lucas and Finn – things are never quite the same.
Reminiscent of a lot of YA fiction I found myself wondering what the appeal of Lorna was for these teenagers – I never felt we got to see enough of her as a character to justify the way they reacted to her going missing. Though the three remaining teenagers evidently miss Lorna, the shift in their relationships makes for interesting reading.
I liked the way those left behind changed during the course of the novel, becoming that little more self-confident and less reliant on the figure of Lorna their leader to authorise their actions. I did feel that the focus on character meant what came towards the end was fairly obviously sign-posted.