The Roanoke Girls

I hate to use the word “triggered”. And get really frustrated when people, especially bookish people, talk about a book being triggering… but this is one of the few times where I get it.

This story is pretty fucked up but if you have any kind of sexual assault history this might not be the one for you.

First of all, I picked this one up off a YouTube seasonal recommendation. So I went into it thinking this book was somehow connected to the Lost Colony of Roanoke. Nope. Has nothing to do with that. Not quite sure how this fits a “Fall seasonal read”… but whatever.

I got over the fact pretty quickly that this book was not what I thought it was. I was hooked immediately. It’s been awhile since I have picked up a particular book to read any given chance I got and this book did it for me.

The Roanokes are the IT family. Everyone wants to be them. They have money and the girls are beautiful. But they are hiding an awful secret. A secret that drives the daughters to run away, or kill themselves.

Lane Roanoke goes to live with her grandparents after her mother kills herself. Lane becomes close with her cousin and quickly learns there is something not right with the family. When she ultimately discovers what it is, she herself runs. Years later Lane is brought back to Roanoke when her cousin disappears. Lane is forced to deal with the family secrets and let the world know what has really been going on on the Roanoke property for decades.

JS.