On Trust, Tragic heroines, and telling
Full disclosure: Lucy (AKA Lizzie Fry) is my mentor. One of the reasons I chose to work with her is that she’s a great writer. To be fair, I probably wouldn’t have heard of the book if she wasn’t my mentor, and I’m so glad I did.
It took me a little while to get into Little Boy Missing–probably a few chapters. It may have been the unique voice. The protagonist, Jo, tells her story to her missing son, Kyle, and we get to listen in on this unorthodox bedtime story. The eldest of three boys, Kyle had developed learning disabilities in the aftermath of debilitating meningitis. Jo takes him and his two brothers, Tom and Callum, one summer day to the woods near their home, where they play hide and seek. When Kyle remains hidden longer than usual, Jo realises something is wrong and rushes to call the police.
This book explores every mother’s worst fears. The fear that your child will get sick. The fear that you will lose your child. And, of course, the fear you will be judged for how you mother and found lacking. Lizzie Fry takes these fears and cruelly makes Jo face all of them. And the reader gets to face them with her.
The more I think about this book, the more I like it. I think the “telling” style of the narrator threw me off at the beginning. But a few chapters in, I’ve already connected with Jo. I remember the days I had to go grocery shopping with two young children in tow. I remember the stress, the tantrums, the anger response that frightened even me, let alone the children and bystanders. The need to accomplish anything while also tending to young children can wring the energy out of you in minutes.
After that, it was an easy read. I may have gotten used to the voice, or the pace picked up, or I felt more connected with Jo. But the book, in general, is fast-paced and unputdownable. It’s an excellent thriller. There are no gory details or boo scares, which makes it the kind of horror I love. If that sounds like your cup of tea and you like letting the author tell you the story, I suggest you stop reading this review and go read the book. You can get it here. If not, I have more stuff to say below but that contains spoilers.
BEWARE SPOILERS
BELOW THIS CUTE PUPPY PICTURE, THERE ARE SPOILERS. DON'T SAY I DIDN'T TELL YA.
Jo is a tragic heroine. This book does not have a happy ending, and it is not for the faint of heart.
As the story progresses, we learn that Jo and the boys’ father, Sean, have recently separated. Jo learns that Sean is having an affair with Kyle’s young carer and throws him out of the house. In the aftermath of the separation, Jo struggles to keep up with the boys even more than before. She is spread thin.
Throughout the book, Jo has a trust issue. She’s quick to anger and judge others, even people closest to her, Sean and Charlie. Sean and Charlie are brothers, which makes Charlie Jo’s brother-in-law as well as her best friend. This constellation means that when Jo discovers that Sean has cheated on her, she suddenly loses her entire support network. She has no other meaningful relationships–a relatable detail for a mother of three young boys.
Her lack of trust and pride–she refuses to accept help until it’s too late–are tragic flaws that lead to her downfall. She is accused of snapping and hurting Kyle, and with no evidence to the contrary, she loses the trial. At so many points along the story, I wanted to hug Jo and tell her she was an idiot. I think it’s an interesting thesis on the lack of meaningful friendships during the “nose to the grindstone” years of raising small children. If Jo had even one friend she could count on for an outside, non-judgemental point of view, most of the tragedy could have been prevented.
I felt the ending was a bit rushed. I wanted to understand how Jo became detached from reality in the end. There’s a piece of the story missing between her losing the trial and her descending into a psychotic episode. Even so, it’s a gripping story with complex, imperfect characters.
Favourite quotes:
“When life gets real, that’s when we find out who we really are.” (p. 23)
“Your father’s boots had been digging into my shoulders when he should have been by my side.” (p. 85)
“If you have more than one child, your loyalties are forever split between them. Guilt fills up the cracks.” (p. 114; this one landed VERY close to home).
“Every mother could relate to that, yet we’re never allowed to speak of it.” (p. 178; true for a myriad of topics, but in this particular case, referring to being overwhelmed)
“Judging people does not define who they are. It defines who you are.” (p. 223, quoted as anon.)
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