Unspeakable Things

I could NOT put this book down. I read the first 2/3 of it without looking up, even though I had only intended to read the first few pages. Lourey is clearly a master of suspense.

Her 12-year-old protagonist Cassie reminds me somewhat of grown up Mira from the Mystery of the Month series she’s done: sassy, insecure, highly intelligent, fighting for truth and justice. No surprise, I love those books too. This one is more serious, though. Cassie is such a well-formed protagonist, and I so want to read more about her! She’s clearly smart, but also very poor, and is therefore subjugated to lots of teasing at school. The underlying tragedy of boys being abducted only highlights the creep factor of girls who have always been assaulted as well.

But it’s also a heartfelt, funny book at times. How could a book about a pre-teen in middle school not be? The spot-on references to teen culture in the early 80’s–Lip Lickers, Trapper Keepers, band class–also anchor the book in a very specific time period.

The fact that this story is set in central Minnesota and based on real events that happened to young boys there in the 1980’s and 90’s hits close to home: that’s where I grew up, and Jacob Wetterling’s disappearance affected many students in my high school, and we all talked about it until and after his killer was finally found. This book gives a sense of closure, even though it’s fiction, to that horrible time in what was seemingly a very safe place to grow up. We all need catharsis, and this is a good place to start.

It’s hard to place this novel in just one literary genre, as there are elements of suspense, thriller, coming of age, and mystery. I guess that’s why I think this book will appeal to so many kinds of people, not least of whom might serve on literary prize committees. Hello, literary prize committees! Check out this wonderful book that made me cry, laugh out loud, and shudder with fear.

I wasn’t able to finish this one. I started to feel a dirty film creeping over everything and the writing wasn’t compelling enough to endure it. It felt like Roseanne, Jerry Springer, and the Enquirer had come together to conspire the telling of a story about sexual deviants and children. It is an interesting insight into the author’s thoughts and priorities as to details surrounding a fictional account of very real and disturbing events. I suppose I need to read more detail before choosing the monthly selection.

The author did not bring this story to a proper conclusion and it is for this reason I doubt I will ever read another of her books. It left me feeling terribly upset and no book should ever do that.

Cautionspoiler alert! I read a book thats different from the description. Its written in the first person by Cassie, a 12-year-old girl. The wording is quite descriptive in some areas & the head speak certainly sounds like a girl of that age. Keep that in mind when the wording is wrongits how a girl her age talks.

What the story is basically: young boys are being kidnapped but returned after being raped. Some of them are aggressive, probably their anger coming out but none are really dangerous. Two boys get out of line physically with Cassie at different times but she takes care of that & its over. The big story is about what or whos been taking these boys & why? Someone is a peeping tom & so thats tossed out that it could be the same person. The obvious choice is the town pervert whos been raped twice weekly by his dad when he was young. Hes not presented with any redeeming qualities. Suspicion falls on a teacher who is said to be gay. Cassie suspects the policeman who acts like hes in cahoots with her dad about something. It alludes to the dad being involved in some way.

Her dad, Donny, has wild parties that are excuses for orgies. Her mom has sewn pillows & fixed up the barn for these parties. Sometimes it appears that she isnt happy but other times shes presented as happy about the parties. I didnt know what to think.

Donny is presented as a drunk. Quite a bit later its alluded to that hes a molester of Cassies high school age sister, Evie. Cassie sleeps in her closet or under her bed & I think its because of this although its not explained very well. When Cassie hears her dad clip his nails then thats when she thinks hes going to come up the stairs but never says why. Is he molesting Evie? He never makes moves on Cassie so it isnt really clear why she sleeps under her bed or in the closet. She thinks that if she journals then it keeps him from climbing the stairs. Whats the point of clipping his nails? Is it to have the clicking noise to make the reader think the dad is the molester? One of the boys mentioned the clicking noise & so the cop has clicking dog tags, the teacher has a metronome, Dad clips his nail, the molester clicks in his throat.

Their mother has told Evie & Cassie that when they go to bed they arent to come downstairs & shes in bed asleep before the rest of them. If she thought her girls were being molested, wouldnt she make sure they had locks on their doors & stay up until her husband comes to bed? She isnt presented as being intimidated & abused by Donny but as a teacher who earns the money, tends the house & loves him. Sometimes shes a little sad but arent we all from the stresses of life?

Suddenly, when most of the book is over, Cassie is told that Evie sleeps with all the boys. No clues have been presented that show her as being promiscuous or even having crushes. Its an add-on to the storyline that doesnt ring true. Is it to say that shes promiscuous because shes molested? Does she invite a guy over & takes him to her room to have sex with him? Cassie says something to her about it & Evie denies she was upstairs having sex. Nothing else explains if she is promiscuous or if its gossip; if its a red herring to suggest she acts out because shes a victim of her dad. No answers.

The girls arent allowed in the basement. Dad has a secret with the cop. Sounds like theres a mens club sort of thing that has something to do with the missing/raped boys. No, he & the cop grow weed in the basement to sell. If thats the case, why is the family so poor & barely scraping by? Dad said he makes more money than their mom. Why is the relationship between the cop & Donny presented as rocky with furtive whispering? Theyre co-pot sellers.

Cassie figures out the secret to a boy who is missing is at the pervert down the streets house. She breaks in, finds a finger of her hope-to-be-boyfriend sticking up from the dirt in the basement. Cops couldnt search there even though they suspected the man because they didnt have a reason other than suspicion. Isnt that called probable cause? Are there no judges to issue a search warrant? Why would a clever murderer leave a clue like a visible unburied part of a body in his basement? Why does Donny go there looking for his daughter & rescue her as shes being strangled? He had no clue she was out of the house, nor where she was & he couldnt have heard anything to make him break in & become a hero.

The aunt, who Cassie adores, shows up & flirts to beat the band with Donny until shes thrown out by her sister. Whats the point of having her in the book at all? She added nothing to the story. We already know Donny is a womanizer. He and his wife had a swingers party. Nothing is new here.

At the very ending, while Cassie is in the hospital, a social worker comes to see her & talk to her privately. Why? Nothing alluded to the abuse in her family, her parents can have any kind of a private party they want, she wouldnt know about the pot or that Cassie doesnt like her dad.

Maybe Im too matter-of-fact but I dont like excess situations thrown in to a book that adds nothing to the storyline. I also dont like vagaries & alluding to things without an answer. Why couldnt the author make the story clear? I dont find it satisfying when I have to guess how the story ended. No profanity, graphic sex or violence.

Unspeakable Things tells the story of almost-thirteen-year-old Cassie, a whip smart girl who is struggling to hold on to the magic and wonder of childhood while it is being stolen from the boys around her. Determined to find out what is happening to these boys, Cassie uses the skills she learns from Charlies Angels and Remington Steele in her very dangerous hunt. Lourey captures the imagination, humor, bravery, and crushing pain of being thirteen. Her heroine is a spot of hope in a narrative that is filled with mystery, dread, and adults who won’t face the truth. Lourey’s storytelling keeps you turning pages well into the night.

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