Written by Nina Lacour
Contemporary, Paranormal, Mental Health
Publishing September 29th 2020
272 Pages
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★★★☆
Mila is used to being alone. Maybe that’s why she said yes. Yes to a second chance in this remote place, among the flowers and the fog and the crash of waves far below. But she hadn’t known about the ghosts.Newly graduated from high school, Mila has aged out of the foster-care system. So when she’s offered a job and a place to live on an isolated part of the Californian coast, she immediately accepts. Maybe she will finally find a new home, a real home. The farm is a refuge, but it’s also haunted by the past. And Mila’s own memories are starting to rise to the surface
Eighteen year old Mila is transitioning from an adolescent in foster care to a homestead estate in Mendocino California, an isolated coastal community and an internship educating children. At the homestead, everyone contributes, the chores, the weekend farmers market and maintaining the property and accommodation. The farming community are welcoming although cautious of Mila and beyond the fields of flowers, the dreamlike mist that settles upon the land and the pebbled beach, the ghosts dance upon the fields under the moonlit sky.
Mila is an interesting character, enigmatic and a fragmented version of herself. The community is her opportunity to alleviate her anxiety and find solace, escaping her early adolescent years and the tragedy that had befallen her family. Harbouring secrets, Mila is tormented by her former stepfather, a man who manipulated her single mother and kept Mila captive, figuratively and literally.
Mila is responsible for the education of nine year old Lee, anxious and afraid of ghostly apparitions. Lee is an intelligent boy, my heart ached for what he continued to endure, his anxiety was often overwhelming and the adults within the property settlement seemingly believed that a nine year old child was able to manage his own anxiety. Mila is unqualified and a few of her interactions with Lee seemed inappropriate. Using storytelling as a means to share and provide a feeling of solidarity, Mila tells the story of a wolf, ripping a young woman's heart from her chest, representative of the situation of Mila herself and her stepfather. She goes on to share the story about how she was conceived and how her mother had decided her father wouldn't be given the opportunity to become a parent. I understand that Mila is young but with seemingly no experience with children, I'm not entirely certain she understood the sensitive nature of Lee's anxiety or working with children. A small annoyance that didn't impact my overall enjoyment but I found Mila's actions concerning.
On the farm, Mila is befriended by Liz and Billy, who are seemingly in a sexual relationship. Mila is experiencing ongoing traumatic stress from her adolescence and begins sleeping between the young couple each night as a comfort mechanism, the two young women also bathing together. Their relationship isn't defined but I suspect Mila may be attracted to the young couple, pleasuring herself after overhearing them being intimate. The property community appeared as a humanism, unstructured environment, a commune of spirited and likeminded people. Perhaps I'm cynical but the community is similar to a congregation but rather than preaching religion, they promote togetherness, your personal journey to wellness and although it appears to be a positive environment, I couldn't shake the sinister undercurrent and expected there may have been something awful happening at the farm.
Nina Lacour is an incredible author, her themes of sadness, mental wellness and loss are told beautifully, artistically and poetically. Watch Over Me is an engaging read but not particularly immersive. The liberation of healing through symbolism was quite exquisite but the narrative, characters and community were too peculiar and underdeveloped unfortunately.
The only ghosts that really registered with me were the ghosts of Mila's past. I found myself very involved in all those flashbacks, that painted the bigger picture of who she was. I thought it was beautifully written as well
ReplyDeleteNina Lacour's writing is absolutely lovely, it's delicate and incredibly beautiful. I liked Mila's character but because it was only 270 pages or so, I never felt a sense of who she was. I'm not entirely sure what was going on with Liz and Billy and the relationship Liz shared with Mia. I liked the symbolism but there was too many loose ends for me unfortunately.
DeleteWoah, sounds like some intense feelings and situations are dealt with. That is a bit concerning about the stories Mila told to a 9 year old, but I guess it's supposed to show her own trauma and how she may be an "adult", she's still very much a child. Glad you enjoyed this one overall.
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
To be honest, I found her connection with Lee especially quite strange. It felt as though she placed her feelings above Lee's anxiety and I don't think she was in the best space to be able to care for someone else. I did enjoy it but there were quite a few issues that annoyed me unfortunately.
DeleteI don't quite know what to make of this one I must admit- and I appreciate your articulating your concerns. It just feel a bit too peculiar (like you said) for me. That said, that cover is gorgeous and not one I would soon forget!
ReplyDeleteI think that's my issue, I like quirky reads but this felt a little too peculiar. I love the use of symbolism throughout but felt emotionally disconnected from it all sadly.
DeleteWow those stories Mila told to Lee would be a bit concerning! A child trying to help a child, I guess, but like you say, not necessarily in an appropriate way! This sounds a little spooky and intense though, I'm intrigued by this! Sounds like it could have been better, but still nonetheless intriguing...
ReplyDeleteBesides the writing, the mystery element was my favourite aspect. It uses symbolism as a means of healing and it was quite lovely. Mila as a character needed to focus on her own healing and she seem to project so many of her own issues and fears upon young Lee. Although she was protective of Lee, it came across as possessiveness and didn't sit well with me.
DeleteSorry to hear this wasn't a better read for you. The underdeveloped characters would bother me as well.
ReplyDeleteI never really felt a sense of who they were beyond their sadness unfortunately and even just a few more chapters probably would have allowed me to invest emotionally.
DeleteWow, no one is really loving this one. I'm surprised but so many of you all feel the same.
ReplyDeleteKaren @ For What It's Worth
I've only seen mostly positive reviews for this one actually and felt as though I was the odd one out. I've loved her previous novels and although I liked it, it just missed the mark for me unfortunately.
DeleteI did like Nina Lacour's book We Are Okay and I want to try more by her but it sounds like this is one that isn't quite working for a lot of readers because it veers off into being a bit too strange, when it could've been more grounded.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved that one as well! I think this being so short, it just fell a little flat for me. I needed more character development and confused about both Liz and Billy's characters. Maybe it's narrowmindedness but it felt like a cross between a cult and a commune.
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