Full of heartbreak and devastation, I shed tears and got angry.
- Sue Menard
- Mar 18, 2020
- 3 min read
There are two kinds of people on the planet. Hunters and prey I thought I would be safe after my mother died. I thought I could stop searching for new places to hide. But you can’t escape what you are, what you’ve always been. My name is Savannah Darcy Rose. And I am still prey. Though Savannah Rose―Sparrow to her friends and family―is a gifted ballerina, her real talent is keeping secrets. Schooled in silence by her long-dead mother, Sparrow has always believed that her lifelong creed―“I’m not the kind of girl who tells”―will make her just like everyone else: Normal. Happy. Safe. But in the aftermath of a brutal assault by her seemingly perfect boyfriend Tristan, Sparrow must finally find the courage to confront the ghosts of her past, or lose herself forever….
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MY REVIEW
Sparrow by Mary Cecilia Jackson is an emotional and heartbreaking read that highlights the strength of the human psyche and soul to let go and move forward just as beautifully and gracefully despite tragedy. In this bittersweet novel, we take a journey with Sparrow, a young and talented ballerina. We experience heart-pounding highs and earth-crashing lows as she falls in love and, after a brutal betrayal, must figure out who she is and what she is made of. This violent and tragic incident also sets off a wave of emotional, physical and mental destruction that leaves no one close to Sparrow unscathed. Can Sparrow learn to live again or will she be forever broken and silenced? This is a compelling read that kept me turning the pages. Full of heartbreak and devastation, I shed tears and got angry. Make sure you have tissues handy. What Sparrow endures may be triggering but, rest assured, she will find her way. I must say that I absolutely loved Lucas. His strength, protectiveness and friendship are unparalleled. He is so down to earth and yet so untamable. He is himself. Honest and true. This book, for me, seems true to nature. The way Sparrow’s friends try to help while she pushes them away seems eerily authentic. I was left with a couple questions as well. Why did Tristan choose to date Sparrow after so many years? It seemed a little out of the blue, for me. Also, why does she count by threes? Where did that come from? At certain points, like when Tristan has an abrupt change in his demeanor, I felt that I was missing parts of the story. He becomes someone different and we don’t get to see the breakdown right away. Sparrow and Tristan’s relationship seems to be unraveling and yet, we don’t know how they got there either. It seems to go from zero to sixty so quickly. Later on, in the novel, when told from Lucas’s point of view, the story does go back in time to explain the missing pieces. I don’t know if that is the best way for the story to unfold but I got all the information I needed regardless and persevered. For me, this book ends with a HFN. It’s a bittersweet ending that has me aching for another chapter in Lucas and Sparrow’s lives. I need more and hope this author follows this up with a sequel. I received an ARC via NetGalley of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mary Cecilia Jackson has worked as a middle school teacher, an adjunct instructor of college freshmen, a technical writer and editor, a speechwriter, a museum docent, and a development officer for central Virginia’s PBS and NPR stations. Her first novel, Sparrow, was an honor recipient of the SCBWI Sue Alexander Award and a young adult finalist in the Writers’ League of Texas manuscript contest. She lives with her architect husband, William, in Western North Carolina and Hawaii.
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