Blog Tour & Review: Everything We Lost by Valerie Geary

Title:Everything We Lost

Author:Valerie Geary

Published:August 2017, William Morrow Paperbacks

Format:ARC Paperback, 480 pages

Source:Publisher via TLC Book Tours

Lucy Durant was only
fourteen-years-old when she lost her older brother. First to his
paranoid delusions as he became increasingly obsessed with UFOs and
government conspiracies. Then, permanently, when he walked into the
desert outside Bishop, California, and never returned.

Now on
the tenth anniversary of Nolan’s mysterious disappearance, Lucy is still
struggling with guilt and confusion–her memories from that period are
blurry and obscured by time, distance, and alcohol. Now an adult, she’s
stuck in a holding pattern, hiding out at her father’s house, avoiding
people, and doing whatever she can to keep herself from thinking about
Nolan. But when a series of unsettling events leads Lucy back to Bishop,
she is forced to reconcile with her estranged mother and come to terms
with the tangled memories of her past to discover what really happened
to her brother all those years ago.

Told in Lucy and Nolan’s alternating voices, Everything We Lost
is a psychological mystery exploring family, beliefs, obsessions, the
nature of memory, and fear of the unknown–a haunting, compelling story
that will resonate with readers long after the last page is turned.

My thoughts:Valerie Geary is a new-to-me author and this book is definitely not what I was expecting. Not that that’s a bad thing, as I did like the book, but I think I would classify this more of a coming of age story than a psychological thriller. 

I liked how this story was told – by Lucy in present day, now in her twenties and by Nolan ten years ago right before he disappeared. I think this really helps put things in perspective and give us a good feel for both characters.

While I’m not a huge science fiction fan, I could appreciate Nolan’s obsessiveness with the UFO’s and all things related to that. I think it really spoke to his character and especially his state of mind leading up to his disappearance. Having part of the book told from his perspective really helps to see just how fragile he really was right before everything happened.

Lucy is beside herself with the 10-year anniversary now approaching of Nolan’s disappearance. Once thick as thieves with her brother, she realizes that she can’t move on without figuring out what really happened to her brother. Are her memories from that time as accurate as she believes? She was only 14 years old at the time. 

This is one of those books that kept me engaged because I needed to know what happened to Nolan…would they ever find out? I found myself captivated by both timelines – the cruelty that Nolan experienced as he become more and more of an outcast by his obsession with his passion, and then how Lucy in the present day is trying her best to reconnect with her estranged mother and find closure so she can move on with her life. I do have to say, I wasn’t thrilled with the ending, but did in a round-about way get an answer – I think! 

About the Author: Valerie Geary is the author of Crooked River, a finalist for the Ken Kesey Award. Her short stories have been published in The Rumpus and Day One. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her family.

Author Links: Website |  Facebook  | Instagram 

Purchase Links: HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Be sure to check out all the other stops on the blog tour and follow the tour on Twitter (hashtags:  #TLCBookTours & #EverythingWeLost).