The Girl from Widow Hills

I had to force myself to finish this. Halfway through the book, we know that Olivia was rescued from a storm drain at the age of 6. She has changed her name and started over in a new town, and its 20 years later. So we follow her around in her daily life and meet her friends and acquaintances. YAWN! Then she trips over a dead body in the dark, maybe while sleepwalking. Nothing else really happens for another quarter of the book. The ending was surprising in what was happening in the present, but most people probably figured out what had really happened 20 years ago early on.

I expected more out of this book in that Reese Whitherspoon recommended it! After all, she is a literary icon. Really, it was Ok, a little bloated and repetitive. How many times did we have to read about the little girl hanging onto the grate. And of the exact moment the guy walking home finds her. And the great reveal at the end? Come on. No decent editor would allow that kind of trickery. It isn’t real life and wasn’t that what this story was supposed to be?
Just too much over and over. When the ending came i was relieved.

I really wanted to like this book it started off interesting and the mystery of Arden/Olivia was there. And then thats right where it ended. It was sooooooo slooooooow. I found myself putting it down and cringing when I picked it back up. Ok maybe it wasnt THAT bad but towards the end I was reading to just finish it as quickly as I could not out of eagerness for the story but for more for my mental health of dullness.

Arden is a six year old girl who was missing for three days during a storm in Widow Hills and is found under some grates and her story is a national sensation. All she wants to do is get away from the fame and she changes her name and starts a new life. It all comes to a halt when she wakes up from sleep walking to a dead body who comes to be a person she knows from her past.

The character development seemed to stall for me on Olivia. The chapters seemed to repeat the same information for a long time with nothing new brought to the story. The ending was ok but it didnt redeem the book for me and I was happy to just be done.

Love this author and I like supporting NC authors. Everything I have read from her has great!

This 4 star thriller was a great distraction.

<b>SUMMARY</b>
Olivia was trying her hardest to live an ordinary life. Blend into the scenery. However, much to her chagrin, the cards were stacked against her. In addition to having a mother who struggled with addiction and stability, Olivia had a life altering experience when she was very young. She had a habit of sleep walking and one night, she walked straight out of her bed, into a storm and disappeared for three days before being rescued. Remember <i>Baby Jessica from the well</i>? It was similar to that in that the whole country collectively held their breath, prayed and waited by the TV for news of a rescue. Although Olivia appreciated all of that greatly, she didn’t want to live her entire life as <i>The Girl from Widow Hills</i>. It was overwhelming. And occasionally, people could get crazy or mean about it. She moved out of state (more than once) and changed her name, desperate to get a fresh start.

Finally, things were going well. Olivia was entrenched in a community that felt like <i>home</i>, had a career she loved, a close circle of friends, a nice home and was finding peace. Until she received a call saying her mother had past away, followed by a box of her mother’s possessions. Something about all that must have triggered her and she began sleep walking again. And to make matters worse, she literally stumbled onto a dead body while out sleep walking. You can imagine how much longer her anonymity lasted after that…

<b>WHAT I LOVED</b>
I had read, <I>All the Missing Girls</>, also by Megan Miranda, and loved it so when I saw <i>The Girl from Widow Hills</i>, I jumped on the chance to read it. I was not disappointed. The Audible version kept me very interested during a long road trip to Colorado. It was a great traveling companion.

The plot was unique and intriguing. The narrative jumped back and forth between present time and the past. The chapters of the past focused on the search for Olivia, while the present focused on the aftermath of Olivia discovering the body. The format worked very well in the telling of this story.

The plot was fresh and intriguing. I was not expecting the ending. It wasn’t what I was expecting.

The suspense really <i>made</i> the story. I was dying to see what was going to happen next.

<b>WHAT I DIDN’T LOVE</b>
I really liked most parts of the book but it was hard to believe a couple of the coincidences.

<b>OVERALL</b>
Good book. Definitely worth reading.

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