Kindle Edition, 352 pages
Publication:
May 28th 2019
by Kensington
Source: I received a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own and were voluntarily given.
Sienna has no memory of
her late mother, yet every significant day of her life—birthdays, the
first day of high school, graduation—has been marked by a letter written
during her last weeks of life. Sienna knows her father feels grateful
to be able to offer up these connections to the loving, talented woman
his daughter never got a chance to know. Yet for Sienna herself, the
letters have become a dreaded burden, a reminder that every milestone is
less than it would be if both parents were still living.
A month before her twenty-fifth birthday, Sienna finds a lump. Facing a cancer diagnosis, Sienna begins to ask questions about her mother’s terminal illness—questions that reveal unsettling inconsistencies and voids in the stories she’s been told. The deeper she digs, the more the image of her mother as a contented homemaker warps into something much darker and far more troubling. If Sienna’s dad lied about this, what else did he lie about?
What does it mean to be a good parent? What role does the past play in who we are? And to what lengths should one go to protect a child? Like the best of Jodi Picoult, Whatever It Takes delves into these fascinating questions of family and identity with power, insight, and love.
A month before her twenty-fifth birthday, Sienna finds a lump. Facing a cancer diagnosis, Sienna begins to ask questions about her mother’s terminal illness—questions that reveal unsettling inconsistencies and voids in the stories she’s been told. The deeper she digs, the more the image of her mother as a contented homemaker warps into something much darker and far more troubling. If Sienna’s dad lied about this, what else did he lie about?
What does it mean to be a good parent? What role does the past play in who we are? And to what lengths should one go to protect a child? Like the best of Jodi Picoult, Whatever It Takes delves into these fascinating questions of family and identity with power, insight, and love.
My Review: 4 Stars
Facing a serious health crisis, Sienna decides to ask questions about her mother, who died when she was only two years old, but discovers startling inconsistencies that lead her to dig deeper, finding a complex web of lies.
Marriage is challenging, but when combined with infertility, an overseas job, possible cancer, and other stresses, the breaking point for all of it can be achieved without much effort. My heart went out to Sienna, who tries to be strong and face everything pressing in on her alone. I could feel her desperate need for answers and thought the way the chapters went back and forth between past and present was a clever way to divulge the truth.
This tangled web of deception was interesting to watch unfold and really made me think about the impacts of family relationship and identity. Sienna's relationships are all complicated in one way or another and watching her sort out her connections with others, as well as the mystery surrounding her mother was satisfying. I enjoyed this one and thought it was well done, but wanted the vague threads of the story to have more resolution.
Content: moderate romance (affairs, innuendo, implied intimate relations); mild+ descriptions of drug use; moderate language
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