Ever Since
by Alena Bruzas
Rocky Pond Books (Penguin Random House), 2023. 277 pages.
Review written July 13, 2023, from a book sent to me by the publisher.
Starred Review
This book isn’t exactly pleasant reading, but it is powerful, and it made me care deeply about characters I didn’t even like at first.
The book has a short Content Note at the front: “Please be advised that this book contains depictions of sexual assault, CSA, and suicidal ideation.” So that gives you an idea of what you’re in for.
But the book begins with five teenage girls, all good friends, who are happily looking forward to the summer. I like the first paragraph:
Once there were five princesses. No, I mean five witches. Actually, they were goddesses. Anyway, whatever they were, they were friends.
This opening foreshadows the senior project Virginia’s going to start thinking about this summer, looking into the story of Medea. Which echoes her own story.
The book begins with a road trip out to the coast. Virginia is our viewpoint character. Poppy and Thalia and Paz and Ro are the friends along with her, and there are plenty to meet them at the coast, including Thalia’s boyfriend Edison and Poppy’s boyfriend Rumi.
But something’s up with Virginia and Edison…. She thinks Thalia doesn’t know yet and maybe she can stop, but Edison calls her over away from the crowd….
And then the next day Poppy disappears. She doesn’t turn up for her job coaching soccer. She doesn’t answer calls or texts. Poppy’s house was the only place where Virginia felt safe at night. And then she starts getting close to Rumi. But she can’t betray Poppy, too. But it feels like Rumi actually sees her.
So by this time, I wasn’t crazy about Virginia. But as we see her go through the summer, we get strong hints that there’s something going on under the surface. And we begin to care deeply. And things build up and something with Rumi’s little sister triggers a whole lot of trauma – and I don’t want to say any more, because the author does a great job of weaving this story together so that the revelations aren’t exactly a surprise for what they are – but they’re definitely a surprise about who is involved. And it’s told in such a way that you come to better understand Virginia’s behavior all along – that since she was deprived of consent as a young child, she no longer really understands that she’s allowed to withhold consent. (And that’s a much more simplistic way of putting it than the book gives.)
Like I said, it’s not a pleasant book. But it has a wonderful, I-wish-it-weren’t-necessary message. And makes you care about this girl you might have condemned. So wow. Just read it already.
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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.
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