"I'll race you to the sun."
Have you ever just identified with a book so deeply that you just can’t stop thinking about it day in and day out? Well, this is the case with The Rust Maidens. Here I am seven months later and this book is still ripping my heart out.
So you might be wondering "Marcy, how can you identify with a book that turns girls into broken glass and metal?" Of course, I myself am not turning into a Rust Maiden but the feel and atmosphere of this book have crept deep within my bones. First off let's talk about Gwendolyn Kiste's writing, just WOW. She truly has a way with words, a dark and lyrical storyteller. She weaves present and past so seamlessly making it easy to follow and understand. Entering the story we meet Phoebe in present time returning to the city of Cleveland, a place that she hasn't been back to in 28 years, but it's just as she remembers it "cold as a broken promise, and just as cruel" ( see what I mean about Gwendolyn's writing?!). She has returned to help her mother pack the last bit that remains of her childhood home. See, the street that Phoebe grew up in, Denton Street, is about to go through some major changes as homes are being demolished to make way for new condos. Being back home Phoebe starts reminiscing about the events that took place right after graduation, the same events that shook a neighborhood to its core, the transformations of The Rust Maidens.
This book holds all the things that attract me to a book, it's set in the ’80s, it is full of abandoned houses and abandoned steel mills, strong friendships, creepiness, and gut-wrenching emotions. It deals with topics such as being different and never really belonging, to grief, feeling lost and empty, and also of finding purpose and a sense of closure. Can we also talk about this cover, the color scheme sparks my senses and it definitely fits with the overall feel of the book! I have never seen a cover truly describe the contents of a book like this one.
Overall, I highly recommend this book. A definite 5 stars from me and if I could give it a million stars I would. I leave you with this... "Pray for the Rust Maidens."
