I started reading "The People We Keep" by Allison Larkin at the beginning of this year. I was immediately hooked. I think my favorite thing about this book is Larkin's writing, and more specifically, April's voice. It's just so relatable, witty and beautiful.
April has the kind of voice anyone can relate to. Whether it's an old man, a young man, an old woman or a young woman, she has a knack for telling it like it is, but doing so in a way so beautiful that the words flow like a poem. Everything April says, I can see in my mind's eye because it is so vivid and exacting.
Another thing about April is that her story is sad. Really sad. Basically, she gets tossed aside by her dad at a very young age and is basically raising herself in a motor-less motor home until one day they get in an argument over it and he smacks her across the face. From that point on, 16-year-old April is an orphan, trying to make a life for herself without even knowing how.
She stumbles upon a place called Ithaca, where she meets a couple people she loves, but has to leave after about a month when someone discovers how young she is an threatens to reveal her secret unless she leaves. For the next three years, she's homeless, afraid to settle anywhere because she's so used to being used or let down that she's afraid to get too close to anyone.
There were multiple times in this book when I finally thought April had hit a break, and then, a few chapters later, felt my heart break as the rug got pulled out from under her yet again. One remarkable thing about Larkin's writing is that she writes in a way that compels you to empathize with April in such a way that the ending will probably bring you to tears.
All in all, "The People We Keep" is a touching book about life, people and how everyone belongs somewhere. I give this book a rare five out of five, because it's just that good.
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