Source: Purchased
Blurb: I am not who I say I am,
And Marla isn't who she thinks she is.
I am a girl trying to forget.
She is a woman trying to remember.
Allison has run away from home, and with nowhere to live, finds herself hiding out in the shed of what she thinks is an abandoned house. But the house isn't empty. An elderly woman named Marla, with dementia, lives there – and she mistakes Allison for an old friend from her past called Toffee.
Allison is used to hiding who she really is and trying to be what other people want her to be. And so, Toffee is who she becomes. After all, it means she has a place to stay. There are worse places she could be.
But as their bond grows, and Allison discovers how much Marla needs a real friend, she begins to ask herself - where is home? What is a family? And most importantly, who am I, really?
The novel follows the story of Allison who escapes an abusive home situation by sleeping rough in a garden shed of an abandoned house. But, the house is not abandoned at all and soon she is discovered by the occupant of the house, Marla, an elderly woman with dementia. Marla then mistakes the girl for another from her past whom she refers to as "Toffee".
The lyrical writing of the novel lends such an intimate, emotional quality to the story. The way the story unfolds and reveals Allison's home situation and abuse she has faced, and Marla's loss of self, her memory fading and the glimpses of her past youth we get. The relationship between the two characters, one who is lost and one who seeks to escape, is a beautiful exploration of different generations relating to each other.
Both a heartbreaking and heart warming exploration of trauma, loss, found family and identity, this will be a long time favourite of mine. I hope to reread this in the future. As always, Sarah Crossan will be on my automatic buy author list forever.
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