What I'm Reading Wednesday: We Begin at the End

If you're looking for a feel-good, happy ending sort of book, We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker isn't it.  However, if you're in the mood for a novel filled to the brim with loss, remorse, revenge, redemption, and love -  then you've found it!

"Walk has never left the coastal California town where he grew up. He may have become the chief of police, but he’s still trying to heal the old wound of having given the testimony that sent his best friend, Vincent King, to prison decades before. Now, thirty years later, Vincent is being released.

Duchess is a thirteen-year-old self-proclaimed outlaw. Her mother, Star, grew up with Walk and Vincent. Walk is in overdrive trying to protect them, but Vincent and Star seem bent on sliding deeper into self-destruction. Star always burned bright, but recently that light has dimmed, leaving Duchess to parent not only her mother but her five-year-old brother. At school the other kids make fun of Duchess—her clothes are torn, her hair a mess. But let them throw their sticks because she’ll throw stones. Rules are for other people. She’s just trying to survive and keep her family together.

A fortysomething-year-old sheriff and a thirteen-year-old girl may not seem to have a lot in common. But they both have come to expect that people will disappoint you, loved ones will leave you, and if you open your heart it will be broken. So when trouble arrives with Vincent King, Walk and Duchess find they will be unable to do anything but usher it in, arms wide closed"  (synopsis via Goodreads.com)

I'm still not sure how I felt about this book.  It was an intricate and compelling story.  But, it is also incredibly sad. 

There were many characters, and sometimes it could feel like a bit much to keep them all straight and figure out what was going on with who and what part they might be playing in the main storyline.  Duchess is a 13-year-old girl, forced to grow up and take on far too much responsibility at a very early age, leaving her angry and closed off from others. Her mother, Star, is a woman lost and unable to take care of herself or her two children.  Walk is the chief of police who seems bound and determined to take care of everyone except himself.  Vincent is constantly going to extraordinary lengths to punish himself for a horrible mistake from his youth.  And that's just a few of the players in this tragic tale.

This novel had my emotions in a twist.  I was as angry as Duchess as I read one page, and then as full of hope as Walk on the next.  And sometimes I was just confused. 

Although it starts slow, and a more than a bit confusing at times - once it starts rolling, it's a novel well worth the time.