I'm not sure I would have picked this book up on my own. The story was disjointed to me and I couldn't really follow along as I had hoped. There really wasn't enough info for me and I am still not 100% sure exactly what happened in the book. ( )

Vivian was 15 when her 17-year-old sister Audra disappeared. She knew Audra was unhappy with society, technology, school, herself, her parents and life in general but always knew they had a special bond like Beezus and Ramona in Beverly Cleary’s old books. She was sure Audra would come back for her. When Audra finally returned to get her, she had a friend named Henry who knew all about how to forage and live in the woods.

Now a threesome, Vivian has to get used to sharing her sister while also learning Henry’s rules and ways of homeless life. Though she misses her parents, she loves Audra, and will do anything for them to stay together as a family.

I thought this book was very strange. Vivian’s notebook was weird as well as the fact that both she and her sister’s disappearances didn’t merit much police attention. It was also strange that her parents didn’t seem too affected, and that they were able to hide in plain sight and survive as street urchins for so long. As I forced myself to keep reading I kept thinking, “thank goodness I didn’t actually have to pay for this book.”

Though I didn’t care for it, I’ll leave it up to you to decide if you want to read it or not.

Book review link: https://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.com/2016/08/27/klickitat-by-peter-rock/ ( )

Vivian, on meds, is lonely and feeling abandoned when her older sister, Audra, runs away. Mysterious writing in an odd combination of penmanship begins to appear in one of Vivian's notebooks. Audra does return for Vivian, along with a strange young man she is clearly having a relationship, and they take Vivian along with them. Now Vivian lives underneath a house, unable to make any sound, and unable to leave except at night when Audra and her boyfriend are back from work. But things are not all they seem.

Rock can write, I think, but in this book the semi-unreal atmosphere didn't quite have the oomph I thought it could have. Certainly we have a somewhat unreliable narrator, which can work well, but the writings in the notebook fell rather flat as well. I had a difficult time getting behind Vivian who many times times had that TSTL (too stupid to live) quality about here. The paranormal part of the novel was okay, but nothing stellar.

As far as enjoyment, this was a 1 star read for me, but since it is evident Rock has literary ability in this novel which has missed the mark, I upped it to 1.5. ( )