The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter - OPTIONAL

Kletter, Kerry  The First Time She Drowned, 338 pgs.  Philomel, 2016.  $17.99  Content:

Language: R (102 swears; 14 “F”); Mature Content: R; Violence: PG-13.   

Cassie turns eighteen and is able to check herself out of the mental institution that her parents lied to get her into.  She is able to go to college, but when she is left on her own, she starts to remember her traumatic past.  As she tries to navigate friends and the freedom of college, she is forced to face her abusive past.   

I could not put this book down and read late into the night.  Frantic hope for the main character kept me engrossed.  The main character is strong and amazing and you can’t help but love her, and the writing is beautiful and heartbreaking.  The mature content is emotional and verbal abuse throughout as well as reference to a child being molested-it’s intense, even though it’s not all on page.  I loved this book but it has a lot of heavy content.  

HS – OPTIONAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.