What We Buried

Siblings Liv and Jory Brewer have grown up resenting one another. Liv—former pageant queen and reality-TV star—was groomed for a life in the spotlight, while her older brother Jory, born with a partial facial paralysis, was left in the shadows. The only thing they have in common is contempt for their parents. Now Liv is suing her mom and dad for emancipation, and Jory views the whole thing as yet another attention-getting spectacle. But on the day of the hearing, their parents mysteriously vanish, and the siblings are forced to work together. Liv feels certain she knows where they are and suspects that Jory knows more than he’s telling . . . which is true. What starts as a simple overnight road trip soon takes a turn for the dangerous and surreal. And as the duo speeds through the deserts of Nevada, brother and sister will unearth deep family secrets that force them to relive their pasts as they try to retain a grip on the present.

What We Buried by Kate A. Boorman - release date February 26, 2019

So this book was one crazy, mind-boggling ride, literally mind-boggling. The entire plot played with reality in such a clever way. I had no idea what I was getting into when I started this book. You start off with Liv suing her parents over her traumatizing childhood spent competing in beauty pageants. But don't let this beginning discourage any potential readers because the mind games start on the first page and don't let up even after the book ends. I am still trying to figure out just how the book actually ended and I encourage anyone who feels up to the challenge to take a crack at this book and try to uncover the truth for themselves.

That leads me to the characters. This story is told by the perspectives of both Liv and Jory, going back and forth each chapter. The author did a wonderful job making each of the of the siblings distinct in how they broke down their version of reality and reacted to it. I loved how over the course of the story they were able to put aside their differences and work together to solve the mystery that they were stuck in. To be honest, there were not many other characters that even made an appearance in this book. But that was another thing that the author was able to handle pretty masterfully. This book never felt like it lacked any characters and it moved at a swift pace. By the end of the book you will have journeyed through the desert of Nevada and multiple layers of reality as well. All of this was done as Liv and Jory tried to uncover how their parents were able to mysteriously vanish right in front of Jory's eyes. 

My favorite part of this story was how Jory saw reality unfurling in front of his eyes. It made me feel the need to read the book over again the second I finished it, because by the end both Liv and Jory had my head spinning with what they were seeing. I loved how by the end all of the overlapping layers of reality melted into one. I will admit though, I am not sure what the exact outcome of the story was and it did not seem like there would be a sequel to clarify what happened. I would say that was the only downfall to this otherwise intriguing book.

This book would earn 3.5 stars out of 5. The only reason that it wouldn't earn more is because of the confusing ending. I was out of my typical comfort zone when I read this book since I usually go for fantasy, but I loved how this book messed with my mind. I read it in 4 days and would recommend this book for anyone who loves a good mystery and a story that plays with our hold on reality.

~ Alyse :)

Reviewed on February 2, 2019