It's almost time for the new school year to begin and Linsey Hart is about to go off to school at Cornell. Early one morning Linsey walks off and just disappears. Leaving behind her family and community to wonder and speculate what happened.
When She Was Gone opens up the doors to numerous households in Linsey's small suburban neighborhood and allows it's readers to see inside. As the neighborhood grapples with the young girls' disappearance, they are also struggling to keep their own secrets buried.
The story is told with numerous vantage points from her mother to a young boy who is an outcast, but who might just hold the answers in his collection of 'things'.
This isn't just a story about what happened to Linsey, but a story about what goes on behind closed doors of her neighborhood--uncensored. As the reader, we get to see everything they are really doing and thinking. Abigal's (Linsey's mother) whole world is turned upside down she can barely function and yet when she goes door to door to find out if her neighbors may have seen anything, one neighbor closes the door on her face. Gross really pulled down the veil and exposes some deep down truths.
I am definitely one who always wonders who are people really when I can't see them, so I really enjoyed getting the all access pass. During most of the book, I can't say I was really vested in any of the neighbors stories. For me the aspect that kept drawing me in further was the mystery of what really happened to Linsey. It was like the more I found out the less I really knew. Then at the end of the novel it felt like suddenly all those doors I had been peeping in were suddenly closed, I was once again shut out of their personal lives. I realized I'd been more connected to these characters than I thought.
I was completely hooked! There were a number of moments where I was reading along, while holding my breath! I am a huge fan of Gwendolen Gross's writing style--smart and precise. I highly recommened When She Was Gone!
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