Tin Camp Road; Ellen Airgood
Riverhead Books - 2021
I have to admit, it was the title and cover art that had this book scream "summer read" to me.
The premise of this novel is a struggling single mother trying to provide a decent live for her 10 year old daughter while vowing never to leave her roots in Gallion, Michigan. Laurel works as a maid at a local motel and she and her daughter Skye live a no frills life. Skye seems more mature than her age but, she is often left alone unsupervised when Laurel picks up an extra shift. Mother and daughter argue and their relationship is one of sacrifice. When their landlord notifies them that they must move as he has decided to convert their cabin into a more lucrative seasonal rental on the upper peninsula, Laurel and Skye must pack up and find another place to stay, which turns out to be more difficult than anticipated.
The author writes about life in the area where she grew up and where she worked as a waitress for nearly 20 years. While I loved the setting of this book and its depictions of small town lake life, I found it almost painfully hard to get through at times -- it took me over a week. The mother makes some poor choices that are not in the daughter's best interest and even has CPS intervening. There were too many unnecessary details and the book had an overall unfocused feel. This one started off well but, it ended up disappointing me.
RATING - 2.5/5 stars
Too bad it was a disappointment. From your description of it, it is easy to understand why.
ReplyDeleteI always feel bad when I find a book I had high hopes for turn into a major slog which was definitely the case here.
DeleteWhen I saw the cover and title of this novel I was immediately drawn to it, but I will give it a pass if you give a 2.5
ReplyDeleteNope -- too many books, too little time.
DeleteOhh too bad. It does have an alluring cover. And the Upper Peninsula setting seems perfect for a novel. Just the execution of it ...must have blown it.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more Vicki.
ReplyDeleteThe setting was great - that is the only positive thing I can say about it though:(
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a case of a book in which more time and effort was spent on the cover than on the story itself.
ReplyDelete:) - good point Deb.
DeleteAww, too bad. I was hoping this would be a winner...
ReplyDelete