I'm usually a quick reader but it took me a while to get through this book. I don't mean that in a bad way - in fact, I mean it in the opposite. I enjoyed every page and every part of this story that Jeannette told.
One of the things I noticed while reading this book was at no point did I feel like Jeannette wanted us as readers to feel bad for her. Of course, you do feel bad for her and her siblings but its not a feeling of pity, its more of a heart breaking sting and the urge to pull these children out of this bad situation or shake their parents and say "what are you doing!".
The sexual assault covered in the book also did not sink in the first time I read this book. Maybe its become I'm older or maybe its because of the #metoo movement (its most likely a combination of both) but I think those scenes hit me the hardest, especially those in which Jeannette's mother told her that if she wasn't hurt from the assault then she was fine. This part made me extremely uncomfortable and my heart broke for Jeannette.
I felt torn when it came to Jeannette's dad. I have a soft spot for fathers in books - especially those who suffer from addiction or mental illness. I never felt like Jeannette's father was mean spirited, but I felt he had a trauma from childhood that made him turn to alcohol and adventure as a way to escape. His death later on in the book broke me and it was one of the few moments in the book I found myself crying because the love between a father and a daughter, no matter how broken or unusual, is so strong.
Overall, I loved my re-read. I don't think I will re-read this book for sometime, but I am going to loan it to my mom. My mom is the Lorelei to my Rory so there's no hard feelings between us but I think she'll appreciate Jeannette's story. It's also a chance to thank her for being the best mom.
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