Tallulah James is a
burdened middle-child in a beyond-dysfunctional family wrecked by mental illness.
Her grandmother has taught her well to protect the family secrets and reputation
above all else. What secret could be worth this pain of holding it in? Her
older brother Griff promises to someday sweep her away to a better life in
California, until a tragic event tears them apart and leaves Tallulah alone to
hold together her imploding family.
When the family disintegrates,
Tallulah heads out on her own, seeking the California dream she shared with
Griff, only to find the ghosts of her childhood followed her. Unable to give
herself fully to anyone, she pours her all into her career—until another crisis
pulls her back to Lamoyne, Mississippi.
Returning to the
place of her oppressive memories, will Tallulah break? Or will she finally be
able to make peace with her past?
This story had me
hooked from the first page. I felt Tallulah’s pain. Understood why she hid her
heart behind a wall. I wanted someone to hold her and tell her it would be
alright. I was totally invested in this character.
The Myth of
Perpetual Summer belongs on a shelf with other classics. Not only is the story
riveting—it is important. It features a bi-racial friendship in 1960s Mississippi.
It tells—though briefly—the tale of those who fought for equal rights as well
as those who didn’t understand. It discusses the devastation mental illness can
heap on a family. It even rolls in a pot of corruption. There is far too much
in this story to write in a review.
The quality of the
writing is outstanding. Descriptions will have you dabbing the Mississippi sweat
from your brow and smelling the dark waters of the alligator-infested river. The
pace is excellent, and the story never lags. I will read more books by this author.
I
give this book FIVE stars, only because that’s the maximum. There is the
tiniest bit of foul language and sexual situations (nothing graphic), but I
felt those areas made the story and the characters genuine and revealed an important
layer to their personalities. I wouldn’t have a problem with my fourteen-year-old
granddaughter reading it—and I’m cautious with what I expose my grandchildren
to.
This
book is the book by which all other summer reads will be weighed.
The
Myth of Perpetual Summer released today, June 19.
I received a complimentary copy of this book
from Gallery Books via NetGalley.
Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
