Things We Wish Were True is a book full of surprises. I wasn’t sure where the story was going to take me. But on a journey, it did.
From the outside, Sycamore Glen, North Carolina, might look like the perfect all-American neighborhood. But up and down the streets, neighbors quietly bear the weight of their pasts—until an accident at the community pool upsets the delicate balance. During the course of a summer, long-buried secrets are revealed, and the neighbors learn that it’s impossible to really know those closest to us. But is it impossible to love and forgive them?
Told from the viewpoint of several of the neighbors, over the course of the book you learn their secrets. Despite their many secrets I felt a sense of community. It hit me around the 60% mark what I thought the title meant … that each character had things they wished were true about the outcomes of their life stories. That “light bulb moment” hit me as true to all of us. Don’t we all have secrets that we want to keep hidden from others? Pretty deep thoughts for a book that seemed more mystery/suspense than anything else.
Although slow paced at times, the closure of each story was satisfactory to this reader. Give this book a try, I think you’ll enjoy it.
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley.
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewer: Jennifer
Title: Things We Wish Were True
Author: Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
Release Date: September 1, 2016
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