This year I’ve decided to spend more time reading so I am on a quest to read 52Booksin365 days.  So, far I am still on track even though I’ve had to slowdown a little here and there.  This weeks read is a book I really enjoyed.  Watch Me Disappear by Janelle Brown.

This book is one that I would of normally passed on, not because the premise wasn’t good, I usually stay away from mystery thrillers and this was definitely that.  I was pulled in by the comparison to Big Little Lies that book they turned into a mini-series on HBO that I enjoyed so I figured I would take a chance.

What Is It About? (Straight From The Dust Jacket)

It’s been a year since Billie Flanagan—a Berkeley mom with an enviable life—went on a solo hike in Desolation Wilderness and vanished from the trail. Her body was never found, just a shattered cellphone and a solitary hiking boot. Her husband and teenage daughter have been coping with Billie’s death the best they can: Jonathan drinks as he works on a loving memoir about his marriage; Olive grows remote, from both her father and her friends at the all-girls school she attends.

But then Olive starts having strange visions of her mother, still alive. Jonathan worries about Olive’s emotional stability, until he starts unearthing secrets from Billie’s past that bring into question everything he thought he understood about his wife. Who was the woman he knew as Billie Flanagan?

Together, Olive and Jonathan embark on a quest for the truth—about Billie, but also about themselves, learning, in the process, about all the ways that love can distort what we choose to see.

What I Loved About It

Billie’s character is complex and she has definitely lived a complicated life.  You can see how her husband hopes for the best, but how his image of her as these secret details of her life unfold make him question his love for her.  It is hard to show people all of you especially if you don’t know how they will respond to what they see.  This book makes you question what you are holding back.  It also makes you ask the relevant question would your love for someone change if you really knew them.  As you read the book, you uncover Billie and you also get an intimate look at Jonathan and Olive, as well.  What happens to your family as they grieve especially when they wonder who you are and the life you have lived.  I was pretty captivated through the entire book.  Janelle Brown is a gifted writer and Watch Me Disappear is a page turner.

Takeaways From The Book

After reading this I wonder how much of each of us is hidden from those we love.  I am thinking of the secrets, but also the things we are afraid to admit.  If you have lived aren’t there always things you were happy that you did and also things that you wished that you hadn’t.  The book also made me think of the people who we become when we want to be loved and how we change who we are to be accepted, whether we want to or not.  Janelle’s characters are people just like you and me, who are struggling what it means to be afraid to share all of us whether we want to protect others, don’t want to admit or relive our mistakes, or we are just people who wonder if all of us is lovable.

My Verdict

It is a great summer read, but this book would make a great fall or winter read too.  I would add this book to one of my memorable from 2017.  It was definitely a book I enjoyed and I really felt like it was worth the time and energy it took to finish.  I would add it to my list personal list and it would also make a great gift.

Janelle Brown also has two other books they sound like great books too, All We Ever Wanted Was Everything and This Is Where We Live.

Here is a rundown of what we have read so far, follow us as we read #52in365 a book a week.

1. The Identicals by Elin Hildebrand
2. Hello, Sunshine by Laura Dave
3. I Can’t Make This Up by Kevin Hart
4. How To Fall In Love With Anyone by
5. Stop Settling For Safe by Sarah Jakes Roberts
6. Stay With Me – Next Review Up
7. In Praise of Slowness – Coming Soon
8. Goliath Must Fail by Lou Giolio –  Coming Soon
9. Plan B by Sheryl Sandberg – Coming Soon