Book Review: Where You Left Us by Rhiannon Wilde
Review by Errinundra Farran
Where You Left Us is a moving tale set in modern times. Stuck at home looking after her mentally ill ex-rock star dad, Cinnamon Prince is bitter and angry, and the last thing she needs is the return of her snobby younger sister. Returning home after graduating from her boarding school is hard for Scarlett Prince; home is unpredictable and scary all at once, nothing is controlled there and for Scarlett control is everything.
Growing up in a tumbledown house on the edge of a cliff next to the sea, Cinnamon and Scarlett Prince were close, gathering under Great Aunt Sadie's portrait every night, whispering speculations and theories about where she went and why, into each other's ears. Now grown up, they are thrust into the reality of their situation; both at home looking after their mentally ill dad, unsure of their futures. A sudden discovery causes them to investigate Sadie's past, which uncovers secrets, lies and revelations that may change their lives forever.
Cinnamon Prince hates letting people in, in fact, she generally makes a rule not to. She is close to two people; her best friends Will and Phe, but this rule is hard to follow when a certain pretty co-worker is seemingly effortlessly wedging her way into her heart.
Scarlett Prince has never been in a relationship; she has witnessed her sister love and hate and cry over both boys and girls, but Scarlett has always preferred the old-fashioned romances of her most treasured novels. But as she begins to investigate the disappearance of her great aunt with her sister's best friend and ex-lover, she knows that she has trodden in forbidden territory.
Where You Left Us is a raw and evocative mystery-coming-of-age novel, getting quite serious and dark at a few points and sensitively showing many harsh truths about mental health. The journey the Prince sisters take throughout the book is a rocky one full of obstacles and personal dramas but is exactly what they need to overcome their past, go forwards and start their future lives un-shadowed by it.
I loved this book! It was so full of human emotions and experiences, relatable characters, and situations. I found it refreshing that it reflected the reality faced by so many non-standard families. Especially those that end up broken by situations out of their control and how it affects the children in the long run. The book showed examples of mental health issues that people rarely speak about, but many people relate to in their own way.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a read, especially those who enjoy reading feel-good explorations of family relationships, mystery and the joys and challenges of finding one's place in the world.
—Errinundra Farran, 2022 SCWC Young Book Reviewer
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rhiannon Wilde is a writer and former Brisbane high school teacher. Her debut novel, Henry Hamlet’s Heart, won the Queensland Literary Awards Glendower Award for an Emerging Queensland Writer, was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards – Ethel Turner Prize for Young People’s Literature, longlisted for an Indie Book Award and was a CBCA Notable Book.
SCWC 2022 BOOK REVIEWER IN RESIDENCE
Errinundra (Errin) Farran is a year eight student at Bega High School. Her favourite subject is English, and in 2021 she achieved an Academic Excellence Award, primarily for being the only student to be given maximum marks for her illustrated story book The Land of the Norm. Errin lives in Quaama with her father and four siblings who are all avid readers. She enjoys swapping between being active and curling up and reading a book. Her greatest influence is her mother who loved to draw, write and sing, and whose book of poems, Annus Poeticus, was published shortly after her death in 2019.