The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel: Book Review

Vowing to discover the fate of her missing cousin, a woman returns to her family’s Kansas estate where she spent one haunting summer as a teen, and where she discovered the dark heart of the Roanoke clan that left her no choice but to run.

Lane Roanoke is fifteen when she comes to live with her maternal grandparents and fireball cousin, Allegra, at the Roanoke family estate in rural Osage Flats, Kansas, following the suicide of her mother. Lane knows little of her mother’s family, other than the fact that her mother ran away years before and cut off all contact with her parents. Allegra, abandoned by her own mother at birth and raised by her grandparents, introduces Lane to small-town life and the benefits of being one of the rich and beautiful Roanoke girls. But there is darkness at the heart of the Roanoke family, and when Lane discovers its insidious pull she has no choice but to run, as far and as fast as she can.

Eleven years later, Lane is scraping by in Los Angeles when her grandfather calls with the news that Allegra has gone missing. “Come home,” he beckons. Unable to resist his pleas, Lane returns to Osage Flats, determined to find her cousin and assuage her own guilt at having left Allegra behind all those years ago. Her return might mean a second chance with Cooper, the boyfriend whom she loved and destroyed that fateful summer. But it also means facing the terrible secret that made her flee, one she may not be strong enough to run from again.

As it weaves between the summer of Lane’s first arrival and the summer of her return, The Roanoke Girls shocks and tantalizes, twisting its way through revelation after mesmerizing revelation, exploring the secrets families keep and the fierce and terrible love that both binds them together and rips them apart.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW

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The contents of this book had me in a whirlwind of captivation, despite the disturbing truth that comes with the Roanoke legacy. The one thing I loved most about The Roanoke Girls is that it pointed on something that is very real for some people and families and the lesson at the end doesn't sugar coat it. The author clearly did enough research to ensure that anyone reading this that might be able to relate won't feel like their experience was represented badly. I personally don't know what it is like since I've never gone through what the Roanoke girls did, but I can imagine that it would be almost exactly how it was portrayed in the book. Amy Engel stated that she had researched this horrible reality thoroughly to ensure her accurate portrayal of the events within her novel. I'm glad that authors like her have taken precaution and proceeded with absolute care when trying to present a novel that is not only fascinating, alluring, and filled with dark themes, but is also somewhat of a realistic setting which most people have sadly had to deal with in their own lives.

“Roanoke girls never last long around here. In the end, we either run or we die.”

Lane Roanoke was the sole focus of this novel, the story being told mainly through her eyes - though many of the multiple POV's were from the other dead Roanoke girls, such as Lane's mother, Camilla, Camilla's sisters and her aunties before her. All in all, Amy Engel did the most amazing job at time-lapsing between when Lane went to live with her cousin, Allegra, after her mother died when she was sixteen, and when she came back after Allegra went missing eleven years later. Never once did I get confused as to who I was reading about or what was happening and I definitely enjoyed how the story played out even though there were some tear-jerking scenes that broke my heart.

“Sometimes it's a revelation, even to me, how much more comfortable I am with cruelty than with kindness.”

The dark scenes that plague this novel are intriguing but gruesome, much of it showing how the reality of the Roanoke's past have emotionally destroyed all of the girls. Lane and Allegra are now the remaining heirs of their grandfather and grandmother who have acted as guardians of Allegra after her mother ran away. The girls are known for their similarities in beauty but not in personality, however they both seem to grow closer thanks to the outcry of Allegra's need for attention and a sister who will have her back when there is no one else there for her. As Lane begins to realise the disturbing truth that hides behind the closed doors of the Roanoke mansion, her escape from the madness of her mother's deep depression seems to become more and more of a prison than a safe haven. When she returns to Osage Flats eleven years later, still harbouring the knowledge that she learnt all those years ago, things are strained with her family and the close bonds she developed with Allegra's friends, Tommy and Cooper. With the help of her first love, Cooper, she manages to find the safe haven she longed for and accepts the harsh reality that the Roanoke family will never be as innocent and desirable as what everyone else thinks. The message behind the Roanoke girls' growing madness made me realise how some people do struggle to accept the love they are given and feel that they deserve less than what they're offered when it comes to being happy. Lane goes through a number of gains and losses before she finds the answer to Allegra's disappearance and can start to heal from her past.

“You can't outrun what's inside of you. You can only acknowledge it, work around it, try and turn it into something better. I may not know exactly where I'm headed, but this time I'm choosing my own destiny.”

This book breaks from the typical themes that most books show and I loved that even though the reality of this story was pretty out of the ordinary and scarily real for some people, it committed to being tender to the touch, a great thriller, and overall a gripping read that you all should pick up. I gave The Roanoke Girls a 5 out of 5 stars!

Thank you Hachette NZ for the review copy!

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Not That Kind Of Girl by Lena Dunham: Book Review

From the acclaimed creator, producer, and star of HBO's Girls comes a hilarious, wise, and fiercely candid collection of personal essays that establishes Lena Dunham as one of the most original young talents writing today.

In Not that Kind of Girl, Dunham illuminates the experiences that are part of making one's way in the world: falling in love, feeling alone, being ten pounds overweight despite eating only health food, having to prove yourself in a room full of men twice your age, finding true love, and, most of all, having the guts to believe that your story is one that deserves to be told.

Exuberant, moving, and keenly observed, Not that Kind of Girl is a series of dispatches from the frontlines of the struggle that is growing up. "I'm already predicting my future shame at thinking I had anything to offer you," Dunham writes. "But if I can take what I've learned and make one menial job easier for you, or prevent you from having the kind of sex where you feel you must keep your sneakers on in case you want to run away during the act, then every misstep of mine will have been worthwhile."

SPOILER FREE REVIEW

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Lena Dunham is an actress that I have yet to learn much more about in terms of actually just watching her on her tv show, Girls which she wrote, produced and directed. Since finishing her memoir I feel like I only really know who she was when she was younger and not as successful as she is now. The book includes almost every embarrasing moment, every down side to life and every upside, the perks of living in New York and not needing to worry about getting your license because who does that in a city where everyone gets around in cabs anyway. Lena has always been destined for success and a job in something where she can say the word, "vagina" ten times in a row without getting fired or having weird looks from her co-workers.

Lena is funny, sarcastic and intelligent and all this shines throughout her constant witty humor. The book is ordered in a range of topics which include personal body issues such as weight, diets, and sex. She also mentions love, relationships and friendships; all of which have a completely different outcome. We get an exclusive sneak peak into her schedule of what she ate each day and the count of calories so that we can start feeling self conscious about what we ate in the day and start counting the calorie intake of that. However, it's all good - this is Lena Dunham and she is teaching us that we can do everything she's done and still become a Hollywood success like herself if we dare to dream. I feel like the point of this book is to completely reveal herself as an open and honest person to prove that not everyone who makes it in Hollywood is all perfect and pristine. They're not all the type of people who will f*ck their way to the top in the hopes of big money and fancy parties so they can say they talked to JLo but really they just fell into her while drunk off their ass and said a brief, "Sorry".

Things I LOVE about Not That Kind Of Girl:

* Lena is totally raw and open about her experiences! If there was a definition of a type of girl that literally did not give two asses about what anyone thought of her or what she put in a memoir, the answer to that my friend, is Lena Dunham. She is such an out-there chick and to be fully honest I would absolutely love to have an interview with her and then go out for drinks after to get drunk and talk about what life means. Lena is the girl that you can't expect to be who you want and I appreciate people like that. We need more people in the world like Lena Dunham.

* The "10 Things I've Learned..." lists are the most hilarious parts of this book and I will re-read every single list again just to laugh out loud! If there is anything I've learnt about reading Lena's memoir, it is that I need to add the "10 things..." list because everybody loves reading ten basic things you like, love, hate or just learnt about something or someone. Okay wait, nah that's just me but if that's you too then I like you already.

* I feel sorry for the shit she's gone through even though she doesn't make you feel like that on purpose. It's the point of a memoir, you're honest with your readers! I absolutely love how she's so honest about her relationships and what she's had to deal with in the past. I'm so glad she's been able to find someone deserving of her and who makes her happy. The dicks who have just used her as a play-thing make me wanna go hug her and then hunt them down with a paintball gun and shoot them in the crotch. Yeah I'm a little sadistic when it comes to getting guys back for being an asshole to either me or others. Lena should have that friend.

Overall I have given this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars because she is so descriptive and has written her memoir almost like if her life was just out of a drama novel. It pulls you in and even though my eyes sometimes got lazy and didn't want to read or process some of the "big" words, Lena really looked like she put so much effort into this book so she really deserves some extra credit for her work. I hope that her tv show, Girls does really well in the future. I think I might start watching it at some point.

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