This review is based on an ARC received from the publisher.
A group of childhood friends is reconnecting at the funeral of one of their members, who distanced herself from the rest of them around the end of high school. In the wake of her suicide, they all wonder again why she left them, and if their own secrets were to blame. As it continues, the focus shifts to one of the members, Mikey Callahan, in particular. He's suffering from macular degeneration and from a distant relationship with his father, which turns out to have its roots in some of those hidden secrets.
Weeks after finishing this book, I am still not entirely sure what to make of it. On one hand, the focus in the first part on the group sharing the various secrets which they had previously shared only with Sally, the friend who committed suicide, feels a bit limited and cliched. The shift to the rest of Mikey's life and relationships opens it up and makes it feel less obvious of a book, however it also feels a bit like an abandonment of the original premise. It's certainly well written and engrossing; I'm not certain whether or not it is particularly new and special.
Overall: B
The Gunners will be published March 20.
A group of childhood friends is reconnecting at the funeral of one of their members, who distanced herself from the rest of them around the end of high school. In the wake of her suicide, they all wonder again why she left them, and if their own secrets were to blame. As it continues, the focus shifts to one of the members, Mikey Callahan, in particular. He's suffering from macular degeneration and from a distant relationship with his father, which turns out to have its roots in some of those hidden secrets.
Weeks after finishing this book, I am still not entirely sure what to make of it. On one hand, the focus in the first part on the group sharing the various secrets which they had previously shared only with Sally, the friend who committed suicide, feels a bit limited and cliched. The shift to the rest of Mikey's life and relationships opens it up and makes it feel less obvious of a book, however it also feels a bit like an abandonment of the original premise. It's certainly well written and engrossing; I'm not certain whether or not it is particularly new and special.
Overall: B
The Gunners will be published March 20.
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