North of Here by Laurel Saville

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Disclosure: I was given this book from NetGalley.com for an honest review.

This book seems to get a variety of reviews. Some people hate it and some people love it. I seem to have fallen in the middle. The parts I didn’t like are about certain types of people or situations they get themselves into. The parts I like were the ones where I got to know the characters who grew deeper.

I live in the country now. I know about the grapevine. But I think the characters didn’t take stock in the stories that surrounded them. I liked Dix because he didn’t let anything affect him. He was steady.

Poor little rich people! GAWD! The main character, Miranda, was the poor little rich girl. Her mother was AWFUL! If that woman were poor, she wouldn’t have been able to crawl into bed and feel sorry for herself for so long. Poor people have to get up and go to work to be able to eat and keep a roof over their heads. A twenty-something daughter who has been raised by rich people was equally crippled. Why did it take her so long to take care of business? Because it had always been done for her. No poor adult could have lasted doing nothing. So I didn’t like her very much but I held out hope. Maybe Dax could help her.

I found myself confused as to why we brought up David who is Darius later. He seemed to have some good goals that went astray. Many have a hard time with the idea of the commune. I think there is a place for that type of living. Many who were raised poor learned about bartering services and stuff. Having lived in a large family I see the benefits of having many people and points of view around to make a rounded person. But in this case, I expected Manson would emerge from this kind of twisted thinking.

How to not put in spoilers here? I was shocked by what happened. Seems an educated woman would have been able to see through the garbage. But she missed out on the poor people’s common sense. Too bad.

The ending was great. I was surprised by the new partnership. We didn’t get enough of… um… trying not to spoil… the person who stars at the end next to Dax. We should have been given more of that point of view so the surprise wouldn’t have been so great.

I am curious as to what happened next. Letting properties decay sounds like a rich person answer. There are homeless people even in small towns. How about using these building for something useful?

There. I think I said everything and didn’t give away much.

This will not go down as one of my favorites, but I think I will remember it. Thank you, NetGalley for letting me read it.

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