A Lily in the Light by Kristin Fields
For eleven-year-old Esme, ballet is everything—until her four-year-old sister, Lily, vanishes without a trace and nothing is certain anymore. People Esme has known her whole life suddenly become suspects, each new one hitting closer to home than the last. Unable to cope, Esme escapes the nightmare that is her new reality when she receives an invitation to join an elite ballet academy in San Francisco. Desperate to leave behind her chaotic, broken family and the mystery surrounding Lily’s disappearance, Esme accepts.
Eight years later, Esme is up for her big break: her first principal role in Paris. But a call from her older sister shatters the protective world she has built for herself, forcing her to revisit the tragedy she’s run from for so long. Will her family finally have the answers they’ve been waiting for? And can Esme confront the pain that shaped her childhood, or will the darkness follow her into the spotlight?
REVIEW:
I liked this book, though it wasn't quite the suspense/thriller that I was expecting -- the mystery of a missing girl is the reason for the story, but the actual meat of the novel is about the ways in which a tragic loss can forever change individuals and families. This book is full of emotion and angst, with an undercurrent of misplaced guilt throughout. I thought the child character of Esme was well-developed, though the older teen version fell a bit flat. Perhaps that was intentional on the part of the author however, to demonstrate how much of herself Esme lost as she grew up without her younger sister. I recommend this book, particularly for a reader with a side interest in ballet (the descriptions of Esme's technique and performances were detailed and highly evocative). 3 stars.
I liked this book, though it wasn't quite the suspense/thriller that I was expecting -- the mystery of a missing girl is the reason for the story, but the actual meat of the novel is about the ways in which a tragic loss can forever change individuals and families. This book is full of emotion and angst, with an undercurrent of misplaced guilt throughout. I thought the child character of Esme was well-developed, though the older teen version fell a bit flat. Perhaps that was intentional on the part of the author however, to demonstrate how much of herself Esme lost as she grew up without her younger sister. I recommend this book, particularly for a reader with a side interest in ballet (the descriptions of Esme's technique and performances were detailed and highly evocative). 3 stars.
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