2018 School Spending Survey Report
DEBUT Teenagers Daniel and Jonah were best friends their whole lives. Their small town is shocked when Jonah kills himself and leaves a note confessing to Daniel’s murder. Reeling from the loss of his son and his divorce prior to that, Daniel’s father, Isaac, is a shell of himself, with only his dog Rufus and his Quaker faith for company. One night, Isaac discovers homeless pregnant teen Evangeline on his property and invites her to stay with him. Evangeline, skittish from a lifetime of abuse and neglect, is slow to trust Isaac. Through shifting points of view from Isaac and Evangeline in the present and Jonah in the past, readers come to understand how this tragedy happened and how one gradually begins to recover from trauma.
VERDICT Tompkins has written a stirring and excellent story of loss, silence, forgiveness, Quakerism, and faith. Each of her characters are fully realized, and though their actions may at times disappoint readers, their motivations are understandable. Book discussion groups, as well as fans of Annie Dillard, Ann Patchett, and Marilynne Robinson, will love this debut novel about humankind’s connections to one another and to the divine.
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