Book Review: Crossroads by Laurel Hightower
This might be a short read, but it is by no means an easy one. Trust me when I say this book will rip your heart out, store it in an ornately carved box, and deliver it to Laurel for her to dance off with it into the sunset, gleefully laughing as she rehydrates herself with the tears of readers. (Laurel is not The Evil Queen, but after this book I’m pretty sure ‘reader’s tears’ must be a core part of her diet.)
The book hangover on this one is hard. I started crying somewhere around pages 70 – 80, and didn’t let up until…well, until I fell asleep, really.
Plot wise, there’s little to say that won’t spoil things, but you go into this knowing it’ll be a heartbreak. After all, it’s about a woman dealing with the death of her only son. Chris struggles to deal with life after Trey, but when she spills blood on the ground where he died, she receives visits from her dead son, visits she does not want to stop, and Chris will go to any lengths to keep seeing her son.
Make no mistake: not being a parent will not protect you from how hard this book hits. This is a novella about being a woman, about motherhood, and no matter what relationship you have with your own mother, it’s impossible not to connect with Chris’ story.
For those who haven’t understood yet, this book destroyed me. In the absolute best possible way. Laurel really digs deep into her characters, and she gives them doses of happiness. Just like Whispers in the Dark, I absolutely loved the relationship the main character had with others in her life, including her ex-husband, Beau, and her new boyfriend, Dan. The relationships portrayed in Horror can absolutely make or break a book, and Laurel makes you care for every person involved. But she doesn’t just show us Chris’ relationship with the men in her life, she also explores Chris’ relationship to her own mother, reflecting how a parent/child relationship absolutely can be influenced and shaped by what someone went through with their own parents.
This is a powerful book, one I would urge everyone to read. And if it means I keep getting to read excellent books like Crossroads, I will happily let Laurel continue to use my tears in her bourbon.
Grade: A
Review by Elle Turpitt
I purchased this book.
