Nightingale by Amy Lukavics
Review by Sue Nightingale by Amy Lukavics had a wonderful premise and had me gearing up for a book that would give me chills. Unfortunately, it was not what I was expecting. June Hardie is a teenager in the 1950s that is ahead of her time. She does not want to be confined to the role of wife and mother and all that they imply during those times. She bulks and chafes at the notion that this will be her life but, she finds an outlet and an absolute obsession with her writing. Here, she escapes time and place. When life becomes too much for June and she strikes out, her parents admit her to Burrow Place Asylum, a mental health facility. Burrow Place is not all it seems. The nurses have no real care for their patients or procedure and the Doctor barely interacts during the minimal sessions he holds. As June spends more and more time in the Asylum the lines between what is real and what is not blur. Will June ever find her way out of the Asylum and have the life she’s always dreamed of? This story is told in third person and flashes between present and past events. Throughout most of the book, I couldn’t connect with the main character, June. It almost felt like June had a personality disorder. She cared for no one or nothing except the book she was writing and was overall apathetic. Although this makes sense to the overall plot of the book, it didn’t make me like or connect with her or the book any better. Towards the end, I did become interested and invested not to mention intrigued. The ending itself, for me, however, was rather disappointing and cliched. This story was written well. I just had a hard time trying to empathize with the main character and thus, the book. Because of this, I would ask that you seek other reviews as well to make an informed decision on whether or not this book is for you. **ARC provided for an honest review**
Release Date: September 25, 2018
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