Hecate's Secret Book Club ~ August 2021

My book is:

IN AN INSTANT by Suzanne Redfearn

This is not a spoiler so don't panic:

Our teenaged narrator dies at the beginning. From that POV (point of view) we are able to see how the others survive (or don't) the terrible accident that leaves the other 7 passengers in a wrecked vehicle during a blizzard. But that's only the beginning.

Because, as we all know, the term "survival" is relative. One's body may survive, but the mind is another. We're able to see the people who survived physically, but are spiraling downhill at a prodigious rate. While our narrator watches, those she loved, thought she loved and those whose love she questioned, will bring her anguish as she watches what befalls each character. No one will be spared. I promise that the choices will haunt you as a reader; it'll also break your heart.

This book is shocking on many levels. But it forces you to consider if one bad choice can define a person who has been good and kind throughout their life. What KIND of choice can do that? Because you WILL ponder that question in the end, as well as long after you've read the book.

I read this book months ago. And I STILL think about pieces of it everyday. And being a person who reads over 100 novels a year, a book has to be really impactful to do this to me.

It also made me consider whether or not I really WANTED to still hang around after my death. I always thought, without a doubt, that I wanted to at least be "near" those I love. After this book, I'm not so sure.

Thanks for reading and thanks for the swap!

Blessed Be, Carly

I finally read 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' by Shirley Jackson after having it recommended to me for decades. The main character is a 13-year-old named MerriCat (short for Mary Catherine) who lives in a decaying mansion with her older sister and elderly uncle. Her parents died of poisoning in a mysterious manner. But it is not necessarily the plot that is of interest, rather the way the story is told. Could it be a metaphor for the author's mental health? Merricat's instinctive use of magic was of great interest to me. There are a few books, a documentary, and a television show that have recently come out about Shirley Jackson--I look forward to experiencing them all.