ARC Review: What We Buried
Image from MacMillan Publishers’ website
What We Buried by Kate A. Boorman
Release: February 26, 2019
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. (BYR)
*I received a digital ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
What We Buried by Kate A. Boorman is...intriguing. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I picked it up and, after having read the book, I would highly suggest you not read any in-depth synopsis. I think going in with a mostly fresh slate is your best option as most descriptions may ruin the thrilling unraveling of this story.
Now I’m going to be a hypocrite. Here is a list of very basic descriptors that will pique your interest but not give anything away:
Liv is an ex-child beauty queen and reality TV “star” who is suing her parents.
Jory is Liv’s older brother and has always been looked down upon for his physical appearance.
Jory and Liv’s parents disappear and the siblings go on an overnight journey into the desert to find them.
If those basic descriptors don’t appease you, maybe some of this will. What We Buried is a novel of layers. Boorman writes alternating perspectives between Liv and Jory, between past and present, as we piece together memories of this family. As the siblings look for their missing parents, Boorman overlays the intricacies of two people growing up in the same family with very different experiences and how those experiences morphed their own relationship as brother and sister. We watch beauty queen Liv and ignored, “pitiful” Jory as they learn more about each other and come to unimaginable realizations.
Overall, I’d give What We Buried 3 out of 5 Awesome Austin Points. The book is a bit confusing throughout, but Boorman ties all these loose ends together....eventually. However, I was still left a bit reeling at the end with all the layers building upon each other. Boorman also writes incredibly intricate back stories for her characters that line up in surprising ways while playing with concepts surrounding memory and childhood with the consequences these have on us as we age. I’d recommend this to anyone who likes a good psychological thriller.
