The Longings of Wayward Girls

THE LONGINGS OF WAYWARD GIRLS
Karen Brown
Washington Square Press
July 2, 2013

Set in a middle-class Connecticut neighborhood, The Longings of Wayward Girls explores the events of three summers that have a profound effect on the lives of it's residents. A school age girl has gone missing in the neighborhood in 1974 and 1979, and twenty years later Sadie Watkins, a child herself at the time of the disappearances, is a mother and a wife living in the same community. Sadie is married to a good man but is suffering from the effects of many miscarriages followed by the late-term loss of her third child. When a boy that Sadie had a crush on years ago reappears after years away Sadie is tempted to throw away everything for his sake. As events unfold we discover not only the secrets of the missing girls, but those of Sadie's own family.

Beautifully written, The Longings of Wayward Girls summons up the heat, light and smells of childhood summers. It also accomplishes what is almost impossible, at least for me, an emotional investment in a character that I can neither like or relate to. Sadie is almost completely self-absorbed both as child and woman. As a child she is capable of carrying out a sustained prank on another child; a child who is extraordinarily vulnerable. As a woman she can only see the effects of her actions on herself. The fact that I was carried away by the narrative is a testament to Karen Brown's writing. I can't say that The Longings of Wayward Girls will ever be a favorite summer read, but I did enjoy it for the writing and masterful interweaving of timelines.

Thanks to Washington Square Press (Atria) and netgalley for an advance digital copy in return for a free and fair review.

RATING- 3.5 Stars