The Quarry Girls by Jess LoureyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I will admit that after the uncomfortable preface, I didn’t expect to enjoy this book one bit. Anout twenty pages in, however, I found myself completely hooked. Jess Lourey has taken all the parts of a small-town rural upbringing in the 70s and poured them onto pages that chronicle the lives of those of us who as children were also finding ourselves during that tumultuous time. The cultural references were spot on and also brought with them a profound sense of authenticity that made the tragic events of that summer somehow personal.
Lourey makes a few decisions in her telling of the story that may not sit well with some readers. She never offers in-the-moment retellings of the more difficult events in the book but rather chooses, in most chapters, to reside authentically within the mind of teenage Heather, the narrator. Lourey allows the reader to see the entire story unfold as if seen through Heather’s eyes and stays true to the teenage angst. Scattered chapters are told in a third person limited point of view from the perspective of a young waitress held captive, and those pages, too, reveal a depth of emotion and insight that allowed me to fully suspend any disbelief.
Quarry Girls is a title I expect to see on any number of “Best of 2022” lists—and deservedly so.
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