Book Review: All That's Bright and Gone by Eliza Nellums

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this ebook from Crooked Lane Books, via #Netgalley, free of charge, for review purposes on this blog. No compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it, all opinions are my own

Synopsis:

I know my brother is dead. But sometimes Mama gets confused. There’s plenty about the grownup world that six-year-old Aoife doesn’t understand. Like what happened to her big brother Theo and why her mama is in the hospital instead of home where she belongs. Uncle Donny says she just needs to be patient, but Aoife’s sure her mama won’t be able to come home until Aoife learns what really happened to her brother. The trouble is no one wants to talk about Theo because he was murdered. But by whom? With her imaginary friend Teddy by her side and the detecting skills of her nosy next door neighbor, Aoife sets out to uncover the truth about her family. But as her search takes her from the banks of Theo’s secret hideout by the river to the rooftops overlooking Detroit, Aoife will learn that some secrets can’t stay hidden forever and sometimes the pain we bury is the biggest secret of them all. Driven by Aoife's childlike sincerity and colored by her vivid imagination, All That's Bright and Gone illuminates the unshakeable bond between families—and the lengths we’ll go to bring our loved ones home.

Review:

This is a book that you don't think will instantly grab you, yet it does. Aoife may be young, but Nellums gives her just enough of that amazing insight that kids have, to see where something isn't adding up, and secrets are being kept. As the book unfolds, and you follow the trail with the kids, it's a descent into functioning dysfunction, and a surprising ending,  that will stay with you for weeks. Make sure to add this one to your holiday reading list!

About the Author:

Raised in the Detroit suburbs,Eliza Nellums now lives with her cat in Washington DC. She is a member of Bethesda Writer's Center as well as the Metro Wriders, a weekly critique group that meets in Dupont Circle. For more info, check out the author's website!