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Stillwater Rising (2014)

by Steena Holmes(Favorite Author)

3.82 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1477825150 (ISBN13: 9781477825150)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Lake Union Publishing

series

Stillwater Bay

review 1: 3.5 star readIt's hard to imagine the heartbreak of a parent that has lost a child. What's even more unimaginable is when that loss is at the hands of another child. We've all read headlines or listened to stories about the horror of school shootings. Even though we may empathize with the families, it is difficult to imagine the pain the families feel or how they can ever learn to live with their grief and heartbreak. Stillwater Rising is a story of one town's struggle to survive in the face of such tragedy and loss.Ms. Holmes has presented a story that not only shines a light on the tragedy of school shootings, but shows how the fictional small town of Stillwater Bay bands together to survive. At the heart of the story are three women: the mother of one of murdered childr... moreen, Jennifer Crowne; the mayor of the town and wife to the school principal, Charlotte Stone; the mother of the murderer, Julia Berry. Jennifer is in deep mourning over the loss of her youngest child, Bobby. She used to be an active member of the community, but is struggling to survive each day without her son. Charlotte is trying to be there for her town, her friends, and her husband. She's also struggling to provide some semblance of normality for the town by being strong. There are some that feel she doesn't understand because she isn't a parent and didn't suffer a direct loss as a result of the tragedy. Julia Berry is another parent struggling with grief, but also with guilt. It is her son that perpetrated this atrocity and she feels that she must be responsible since she was his parent. In addition to her guilt and grief, she is also struggling with a serious health condition. As a direct result of her guilt, she has become a hermit and has confined herself to her home. All three of these women are dealing with their own sense of guilt over that fateful day. One feels the answer is to shutter the school, tear it down, and build a memorial to honor those lost. One feels that closing the school isn't the answer as it will put the teachers and staff out of work and harm the economy of the town. The other is simply overwhelmed by her guilt and feels that she should run away from Stillwater Bay in order to allow the other grieving families peace and space. Stillwater Rising wasn't an easy read but it was a touching story about recovering from an impossible loss. The characters were realistic and the action wholly plausible. I find it difficult to quantify Stillwater Rising in any specific genre other than contemporary fiction. This isn't a lighthearted read, but it is a powerful story about hope and survival in the face of tragedy. I don't know if this is the type of story for everyone, but it definitely left this reader with the sense that people can work together to overcome their worst nightmare. The healing may not take place in a few months, or even a few years, but with hope and respect for one another it is possible. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series, Stillwater Deep, as I want to watch this community continue to heal.
review 2: First of all I’ll admit that this isn’t the sort of book that I would automatically want to read- indeed I’d probably avoid it! Having said that, I have to admit that I found it sensitively written, in a manner that really sucked me into the dilemmas facing the different members of the community following the death of ten children and two teachers in a school shoot out carried out by a student from the village who shot and killed himself, too. Such tragic events unfortunately bring out the worst in some aspects of individuals and the media. How the villagers had coped with everything is told from the points of view of different individuals, focussing especially on Jenn (whose son Bobby was killed) and Charlotte (the mayor who wants to hold the town together, working to fight the school closure and to shop the shooter’s mum to maintain her place in the community and not be victimised because of the tragic consequences of the actions of her son). Their attitudes, grief, relations with other villagers and what happens are all brilliantly and sensitively portrayed by the author, who shows how time and events can also impact on the attitudes of the characters. It is a heartbreaking story and is obviously the start of a series as it finishes with a real bombshell and cliffhanger. I have since learned there is a prequel to this entitled ‘Before the Storm’ and other books in the series are to be published soon. A heart breaking story to read only when you feel you can cope with the dreadful aftermath to the shootings - but it is still a brilliant book and highly recommended! less

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