Member-only story
Book Review — The Lost Girls of Devon by Barbara O’Neal
Can you spot the lost girls? They aren’t who you think they are.
I try to intersperse light fiction with my non-fiction reads. Barbara O’Neal is an author I’ve enjoyed in the past so I picked The Lost Girls of Devon from my Kindle Unlimited as my most recent fiction read.
The book is an easy read with relatable characters, although it did take me awhile to figure out who was really lost! I read a review that commented on the cover not being reflective of the story. I would have to agree, definitely don’t judge this book by its cover! There are no blond little girls frolicking on the seashore in this book!
Starting with a premise of 2 missing women in the small village of Devon, one presumes these are the lost girls and perhaps there are more. But as the story progresses, we realize the “lost girls” are really the 4 main characters: Lillian, Poppy, Zoe, and Isabel.
Each is lost in their own, yet interconnected, way. Yes, there is a mystery throughout the book with the 2 missing women. That mystery does get solved by the end of the book but the real story is about mother daughter relationships and how difficult relationships manifest generationally.
As women reading this book, where you are in your own life stage will impact how you see the story play out.
We see the progress of Isabel, the a young teen, dealing with a real modern day, social media, bullying event.
We watch her mother, Zoe, struggle with how to help her daughter through this difficulty even though her daughter won’t open up to her about what really happened.
At the same time, Zoe is determined not to rekindle a relationship with her own estranged mother, Poppy. And Zoe must deal with her daughter developing a relationship with that estranged mother!
Poppy is delighted with the opportunity to have a relationship with her granddaughter and wants very much to heal the rift with her daughter. She eventually comes to realize in more clarity how much her past behavior has impacted Zoe, and what Zoe has overcome to be a good mother to Isabel.
