The Impossible Knife of Memory (Laurie Halse Anderson)

I joined a Facebook group called Talks With Teachers Summer Book Club and this was the first choice for the summer. I've quite enjoyed being able to read what other people thought of the book as they read. It's a good group.

I struggled with the book at first - wondering if I should bother reading a kind of depressing story. I kept reading though because the thought that I kept having was that some kids really have lives like this. It seemed disrespectful to those kids to stop reading. It would make it seem as if I don't care, and I really do care that kids have difficult lives. They need responsible adults to help them deal with the issues they face.

The characters in the story seemed quite authentic. They each dealt with challenges in their own ways, some successfully, and others less than successfully.

Goodreads Summary:

For the past five years, Hayley Kincain and her father, Andy, have been on the road, never staying long in one place as he struggles to escape the demons that have tortured him since his return from Iraq. Now they are back in the town where he grew up so Hayley can attend school. Perhaps, for the first time, Hayley can have a normal life, put aside her own painful memories, even have a relationship with Finn, the hot guy who obviously likes her but is hiding secrets of his own.

Will being back home help Andy’s PTSD, or will his terrible memories drag him to the edge of hell, and drugs push him over? The Impossible Knife of Memory is Laurie Halse Anderson at her finest: compelling, surprising, and impossible to put down.

I definitely will read more of Laurie Halse Anderson's books.