320 pages
Expected publication: September 18th 2018 by HarperTeen
*Thanks so much to Edelweiss and the publisher for the review copy.*
This a story about friendship, hardships, mystery and a touch of magic. It follows three friends who have been gifted with abilities. Rome is a Fixer and is able to fix just about anything with the touch of her hand, and some willpower. Mercy is a Siren, able to seduce men. Mercy is an Enough. She is able to produce more of certain things that people are in need of. Most of the women in Cottonwood Hollow are gifted (or cursed?) with such abilities. People outside of the area call them freaks and outcasts and sometimes that is how they feel. One day a tornado surfaces an old diary that may or may not explain why the women in Cottonwood were gifted. On top of that, there may even be a dowry in a chest somewhere that could get Rome out her trailer and help out more than she is by working at an auto body shop.
The themes that the author touches upon are pretty gritty. Each girl deals with their own set of issues and does their best to let themselves lean on each other for support. Rome living in a trailer with her mother, doing their best to scrape by is one that some kids can relate to. She is resourceful and not one to take handouts, which is admirable. Rome can handle her own, even trying to take some of the burdens from her mother. But she has faults which lead to some of the story’s complications.
I loved the magical aspect of this story. I was hoping for I to have a more prominent part in the story, if even at the end, but it fell flat for me. When I read magical realism, I like to have it be an intricate part of the plot. I loved the ambition of the story. But I could feel when things were dragging. I liked the lack of romance. Although there was an element, I felt like that could have been taken out entirely and the story could have been excellent. I thought, maybe, that Jett would play a much more significant part when things came together and were hoping for it. But alas.
All in all, I did like the premise and the characters. The execution fell flat for me.
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