I almost couldn’t stomach the young boys’ recess-time play, the sheer physical violence of it—balking with thoughts like... do kids really play like that? 

I didn’t expect to face the terror of a narcissistic authoritarian father figure. Father’s role made all too real the then-later parallels drawn to a relentlessly paternalistic society.

Certainly not a volume that I could step into without a strong, healthful mind. Only in my rejuvenated, relaxed state could I step into Audrey’s world, witness her.  

this book reminds of a series of film photos, just as peter and adele shared back and forth. sad, triumphant, shameful, dissonant pictures that the author expects to be pieced together into a disjointed narrative that honestly i quite liked, though there are parts that were difficult to read. though not too unpredictable, it wasn't really the plot that made this book for me, it was a structure of it. spanning decades, we watch each sister grow out of the dedicated box designed for them. in little pieces, this story unfolds into a novel uniquely told, and simply written. 

though i enjoyed the way the book was written i feel at times the emotion felt a little hidden beneath the writing style. this may have been intentional but it felt a little stilted and made me a little confused at times about the chronology of events. 

the ending paragraph was beautiful though. not a happy ending, but a hopeful one.