every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way

Lane Roanoke is fifteen when her mother kills herself, but after the years of dealing with her mother's tears, anger, nightmares, and bitterness, her death is almost a relief to Lane. But now that Lane has nobody, she is sent to live with her grandparents in a remote town in western Kansas, the place her mom was from, the place her mom fought to stay away from. 

For Lane is a Roanoke girl, like her mother. And things don't end well for Roanoke girls. The Roanoke girls die young, or they disappear. Lane knows the pain of being a Roanoke girl--she'd seen her mother suffer every day of her life. But she doesn't know why, why are the Roanoke girls so cursed? 

There was Lane's mother, Camilla, who died. Her aunt Eleanor, who disappeared. Emmeline died in infancy. Penelope tripped on the stairs and broke her neck. Jane left. Sophia drowned herself. Now only Lane and her cousin Allegra remain. Both teenagers, both hauntingly beautiful, both with the blonde hair with copper highlights, both with the piercing blue Roanoke eyes. 

Lane spent one summer in Kansas, the summer after her mother died. And then she left, determined that nothing could ever bring her back. And she did stay away, for years, until Allegra disappeared too. For that, Lane returned, knowing that Allegra would never leave her home. Not alive, anyway. 

I did not want to like this book. It's about as horrible a family secret as you can find. It should have been a heart-wrenching, gut-twisting ordeal to read. But it wasn't. It's beautifully written, with compelling characters and a lovely rhythm that draws you in and holds you close, like those warm summer nights in Kansas that Lane can't quite get over. 

It was Lane that kept me reading. Her search for answers, for Allegra, for peace, for closure. It was her anger and resentment that made this story bearable. I could see the damage of the family secrets, of everyone saying things were okay when they weren't. It took a lot of strength to survive Roanoke, to bring the truth to light, to save what was left of the Roanoke girls. 

That is why I read this beautiful, horrible book. And why I recommend it so highly to anyone who feels strong enough to face the worst of all family secrets. 

A copy of The Roanoke Girls was provided by the publisher through BloggingforBooks.com.