Review: Stillwater Rising by Steena Holmes

Stillwater Rising

by Steena Holmes

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Pages: 253

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  After losing her son in an elementary school shooting that devastates the tight-knit community of Stillwater Bay, Jennifer Crowne finds herself unable to settle back into her role of perfect stay-at-home mom and committee organizer. Meanwhile, her best friend, Mayor Charlotte Stone, struggles to keep the town together, and Charlotte s husband, the school principal, may not be the hero everyone thinks him to be.

As they try to heal from this irrevocable trauma, Jenn and Charlotte find themselves at a crossroads within the town and within their friendship. For Jenn, broken and grieving, there is no going back, and she demands that the school be closed so that she can bury the past. Yet Charlotte is equally desperate to hold the town together, fighting the school closure and helping the shooter s mother regain her place in the community. Jenn and Charlotte s relationship is put to the ultimate test as each weighs her own interests against the bonds of their friendship."


Kritters Thoughts:  FIRST before you go any further, read the novella that I comes before this first book in the series.  I reviewed it yesterday and it provides so much good foundation for this book.

Now to review this book.  A school shooting takes this small town by surprise and Steena Holmes smartly gives the reader all sorts of perspectives on how this tragedy affects everyone differently in the community.  From mothers who had children who were killed, to the mother of the killer and women in the community who have prominent roles but no children in the school system.  Getting to read all of these different perspectives was amazing - a few had their views change throughout the book while they were processing their grief and some couldn't find hope.  

After seeing this story play out on the news, I loved reading a piece of fiction that brought it close to home and made it feel real.  I don't know how Steena Holmes did it, but I felt for each person that was affected by the tragedy and understood the exact spot where they come from and found empathy with each.  I am dying for the next book in this series!

Steena Holmes has become a must read author for me, so if this your first time hearing of her, go check out her Finding Emma series and Decadent Events series - such a great author!


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel (and one is coming!)


Ebook 2014 Challenge: 64 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from BookSparks PR.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.