#BookReview: The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel

  Roanoke girls never last long around here. In the end, we either run or we die.

After her mother's suicide, fifteen year-old Lane Roanoke came to live with her grandparents and fireball cousin, Allegra, on their vast estate in rural Kansas. Lane knew little of her mother's mysterious family, but she quickly embraced life as one of the rich and beautiful Roanoke girls. But when she discovered the dark truth at the heart of the family, she ran fast and far away.

Eleven years later, Lane is adrift in Los Angeles when her grandfather calls to tell her Allegra has gone missing. Did she run too? Or something worse? Unable to resist his pleas, Lane returns to help search, and to ease her guilt at having left Allegra behind. Her homecoming may mean a second chance with the boyfriend whose heart she broke that long ago summer. But it also means facing the devastating secret that made her flee, one she may not be strong enough to run from again.

As it weaves between Lane's first Roanoke summer and her return, The Roanoke Girls shocks and tantalizes, twisting its way through revelation after mesmerizing revelation, exploring the secrets families keep and the fierce and terrible love that both binds them together and rips them apart. 

AMY ENGEL is the author of the young adult series The Book of Ivy. A former criminal defense attorney, she lives in Missouri with her family. This is her first novel for adults.

This book is split into two time frames. It tells the story about the girls over one summer when they were teenagers as well as the current time frame from Lane going back to Roanoke after the death of her mother.  The blend of the time frames worked out very well.  I was never lost on where I was and it was very engrossing. 

The big secret in this book wasn't really much of one and once it was revealed within the first part of the book. The rest of the story was pretty predictable.  The characters in this one didn't work out for me either.  I really didn't connect with anyone and they really weren't likable.  The plot felt a little far out there as well.  I couldn't see how some of the things could really happen and I understand that this is fiction. But it still needs to be believable.  

For me, this one just didn't work out for me.  The story was interesting but the main concept just didnt work. 

Suicide, Pedophilia, Incest

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Posted in: 2 Stars, Adult, Crown Publishing, Jessica P., Review