Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Hold Back the Tide


Everyone knows what happened to Alva's mother all those years ago, but no one can prove it.  That's why her father is still allowed to walk free, but it's also why they are pariahs.  Alva knows the truth.  She saw her father fire the gun that night, and she's lived every day since in the knowledge her father is a murderer.  

Now that she's old enough, she has plans to run away and make a life in another place.  She's saved money from her job doing transcriptions for the monks, purchased the things she needs, and even secured a job.  She's ready to be rid of her judgemental village and her isolated life on the loch with her murderer father, but just as she's on the verge of freedom, a scream rings through the night and changes all her plans and everything she thinks she knows.

This is a short blurb for Melinda Salisbury's new book, but I don't want to spoil the twist!  I went into this one knowing nothing, and I'm so glad I did.  There are so many things I enjoyed about this book.  Salisbury wrings suspense from almost every page, and the remote Scottish village adds to that feeling.  The two characters who become Alva's greatest allies are boys, but the story never devolves into a love triangle which is refreshing.  There are several scenes of violence and descriptions of horrific injuries and deaths.  It starts a little slow, but once you reach the twist, things get wild!  Recommended for 8th grade and up.

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