MAY by Marietta Miles

Let's get this out of the way. I don't know who decided on the cover for this book but it's terrible. And I'm bringing it up because Down & Out Books usually has fairly decent covers for their books. So did someone have something against this one? I'm confused. This book doesn't deserve this.

May tells parallel tales of a solitary woman: first in 1987 as she prepares for a storm on a North Carolina island, which is presented consecutively with the story of her life as a teenager on the mainland and the unfortunate circumstances that led her to where she is now.

The book takes an interesting approach at depicting loneliness and the events that can feed it, especially in showing the differences between May and the two other lead characters, Junior and Tommy, who all share a similar isolation but with totally different backgrounds. They all struggle to stay afloat emotionally and to feel that they matter. And by the end, May realizes that the salvation she needs might be found in caring for someone else rather than expecting to be cared for by others. I must say that I preferred the past storylines better than the present day one, mainly because the present story was filled with so many day-to-day minutiae, details that I feel were unnecessary, cramped the pace, and overstayed their welcome.

Even though you might see this book billed as a crime novel, it's nothing of the sort and it's more enjoyable when you don't have those expectations. I feel like Marietta Miles has a masterpiece in her and I'll be here to see it.

But please, please do better with covers Down & Out Books, if you're looking to actually sell copies!

GRADE: C+