This was the story of Clare, committed at age 18 to an asylum for the insane by her father for rebellion. This was the 1920's and women had very few rights. She spent all of her life institutionalized in brutal conditions. This was a work of fiction, but very realistic from the non-fiction that I have read on the same subject matter. I listened to this on audio and it distracted from the story as the reader was overly dramatic, breathless in every sentence. There was a dual timeline, which was totally unnecessary, dealing with teenage angst, for the most part. 11 hours 20 mins ( )

I found the descriptive story of what living in an asylum years ago (for someone who didn't belong there!) very haunting, and horrifying to realize that happened so often years ago (esp. to women.)

The other part of the story was equally satisfying - a teenage foster girl who stumbles on the diary of a woman forced to stay in the insane asylum for years (thanks to her heartless dad), and how the girl relates to this other "broken" woman.

I don't want to give away too much, but as with Ellen's first novel, THE PLUM TREE, I felt like I was dropped into the setting of the book, really felt their emotions, and loved the story! ( )

Present day, Izzy Stone's mother fatally shot her father 10 years ago. Izzy believes that mom is mentally ill, although she's serving life in prison, and refuses to read her letters or visit her. A foster child, Izzy, now in her late teens, is taken in by a new set of foster parents who are cataloging items at a closed mental asylum. As Izzy assists, she finds the diary of 18 yo Clara, who was committed by her father in 1929 because she wanted to marry an Italian Immigrant. The story flows back and forth with Izzy's struggles to fit in at yet another school, and Clara's story - some of which was in the diary and some from memories. Izzy has to confront a truth - if Clara wasn't mentally ill after all, maybe her mother wasn't either? ( )

2.5 stars. I'm so conflicted on this book. On the one hand, I can't quit a book, so I stayed up late to learn what happened. On the other hand, I had to skim in order to make it through.

Parts of this book read like horror. The things described are so traumatic I nearly couldn't read on.

Parts are so over-the-top I just couldn't buy them. (The school knows nothing about their new student's past? A high school psychology teacher would start out a class by telling the class they're going to examine the exact same gruesome scenario that girl herself had to live through? - That's the spot where I exclaimed, "Oh for crying out loud," prompting my husband to remind me there's no rule that I have to keep reading.)

Foster families are portrayed as unrealistically rosy. People are either too good or too bad. There is very little nuance. Big plot lines don't get wrapped up at all. Heavy-handed. Unsatisfying. ( )

It is a quick read. I liked Izzy's story and I felt there was more to explore with her. Very average book. ( )