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All the Best People by Sonja Yoerg

I received this novel as an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I will admit, my reading list has been on the backburner this month. Every time I would think I had some free time, some new project or deadline would come up that took all of my time away. I FINALLY have some free time now so I will be doing my best to catch up on all of the great books I have yet to read, starting with this one!

Vermont, 1972. Carole LaPorte has a satisfying life. She takes care of her children and husband, and is the bookkeeper for her family’s auto shop business. Her tragic childhood has been long pushed away, a thing in the past not worth remembering. But suddenly her mind begins to play tricks on her. The accounts don’t make sense and there is a constant murmuring that she can’t get rid of. She knows that she should try to get some help, but she’s terrified of being put in a mental hospital like her mother, Solange. So Carole tries to hide her symptoms, all the while isolating herself from her family, and unwittingly sending her 11-year-old daughter Alison on a desperate search for meaning behind this change in behaviour.

If you are looking for a realistic fiction novel that will tug at your heartstrings, then look no further! This novel is a heartwrenching portrayal on mental illness and family ties. Told from the perspective of the females in the family, we see how the actions of one person can lead to dramatic consequences in the lives of others. This novel also switches in timeline and gives a very strong backstory for Carole and Solange. The writing is great and the story is emotional, albeit ordinary. It took me quite a while to get into the story – it might have just been that I wasn’t in the mood for a realistic fiction, but I found the beginning to be quite slow. However, the novel quickly picked up its pace and explored the facets of characters who I soon became invested in. Overall, this is a strong realistic fiction novel that deals with mental illness and family tragedy in a superb way to deliver an emotionally-packed story.

Happy reading ~