Blog Tour: Stillwater Rising by Steena Holmes

Title: Stillwater Rising
Author: Steena Holmes
Format: ARC
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Publish Date: November 11, 2014
Source: BookSparks Book Tour

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "After losing her son in an elementary school shooting that devastates the tight-knit community of Stillwater Bay, Jennifer Crowne finds herself unable to settle back into her role of perfect stay-at-home mom and committee organizer. Meanwhile, her best friend, Mayor Charlotte Stone, struggles to keep the town together, and Charlotte s husband, the school principal, may not be the hero everyone thinks him to be.

As they try to heal from this irrevocable trauma, Jenn and Charlotte find themselves at a crossroads within the town and within their friendship. For Jenn, broken and grieving, there is no going back, and she demands that the school be closed so that she can bury the past. Yet Charlotte is equally desperate to hold the town together, fighting the school closure and helping the shooter s mother regain her place in the community. Jenn and Charlotte s relationship is put to the ultimate test as each weighs her own interests against the bonds of their friendship."

My Two Cents:

In "Stillwater Rising," the small town at the center of the book has just suffered an unspeakable event, a school shooting. The main characters in the book are at the center of the event. There is Charlotte, the mayor, trying to pull the community together. There is Jennifer, the mother of one of the children who was shot. Finally, there is Julia, the mother of the child who shot the other child. Each of these women adds a very different perspective to this book, which is truly its strength.

I loved that the author chose to include the perspective of all three of these different women. They are coming at this event and its aftermath from very different places. They each have their own fears, heartbreaks, and anger. The author really does a good job of creating a very unique and separate point of view and personality for each woman. It was fascinating to me to watch how these characters interact with each other. There is a ton of emotion in this book and it definitely made me think.

Overall, I liked the writing of this book. The juxtaposition between the various characters engaged me almost from the very first page. This book is the first in a planned series and while this book ended a little abruptly, I am hoping that the rest of the story continues in the next story about this town. If you're looking for a book that really packs a punch, this would be a great pick!