Looking Back - Some Things That Stay

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

Some Things That Stay by Sarah Willis

Fiction

2000 Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Finished on April 9, 2001

Rating: 4.5/5 (Excellent)

Publisher's Blurb:

A stunning first novel about a young girl's coming-of-age in the 1950s.

Tamara Anderson's father is a landscape artist who quickly tires of the scenery, so every year her family seeks out new locations for his inspiration. When the Andersons move to a farmhouse in Sherman, New York, in the spring of 1954, fifteen-year-old Tamara and her mother want to settle down and make it home. Sherman begins to work a strange magic on Tamara and her siblings: there's the proselytizing family in the tar-paper house across the street; the dairy cow that becomes a beloved pet; the dead boy who used to live in Tamara's bedroom; her friend Brenda, who teaches her to swear; and Brenda's big brother, Rusty, an irresistible freckle-faced redhead.

While Tamara experiences her first real year of happiness, her mother is diagnosed with tuberculosis, forcing her into a sanatorium. Tamara struggles with her desire to stay in Sherman, her fear of losing her mother, and her anger at being left in charge of two younger siblings while her father escapes into the world of his art.

Deeply moving, with a profound understanding of family dynamics and adolescent anguish, Some Things That Stay introduces an unforgettable narrative voice and marks the arrival of a distinctive, new American talent.

My Original Thoughts (2001):

Excellent story! I love the author's writing style. Believable characters. Reminded me of Jennifer Lauck's memoir, Blackbird. A real page-turner. Couldn't put it down.

My Current Thoughts:

I read this one in less than two days, so it must have been as good as my rating indicates. I remember that the main character was responsible for her younger brother and sister, cooking and cleaning for the entire family when her mother became ill. Other than that, I don't remember much about the book (which I read with an online book group) and haven't read anything else by this author.