Feed My Reads recommended in 2022 - day 27

Time for Feed My Reads recommended read for 2022 that is from the Feed My Reads community, here is Tell Me You Love Me by Kathleen Stone and as selected by Barbara Avon.

2021 National Indie Excellence Awards Contemporary Fiction winner

2021 Global Ebook Awards silver medal winner

2021 Independent Publisher Book Awards bronze medal winner

2021 Independent Press Awards Distinguished Favorite

What would you sacrifice to protect someone you love?
In 1965 April Toulane’s life is turned upside down on her fifth birthday when her mother marries a man she’s known for only two weeks. The life she’d known is forever changed with the addition of a stepfather and a five-year-old stepbrother who terrorizes her on a daily basis. After a family tragedy the young siblings are thrust into the Hollywood spotlight, surrounded by people whose very foundation is based on secrets and lies. Struggling to grow up and find their way in a world where child stars are forever manipulated and exploited, the siblings form an unbreakable bond vowing to always protect each other when the adults entrusted to take care of them fail at every turn. “Tell Me You Love Me” is the story of April and Auggie Fairbanks, the most sought after faces in show business throughout the sixties and seventies, maneuvering their way through the lies and corruption to learn the truth about their parents and searching for the love and acceptance they so desperately crave.

Review:

As someone who was born in the 70s and stared dewy-eyed at the television set as Keith Partridge seduced us with song, I couldn't wait to dive into "Tell Me You Love Me" by Kathleen Stone. I almost didn't read the last page, wishing the story would never end. You would think that a book of this length (600 pages) would seem long and drawn-out, but the exact opposite took place. It's like when you're binging your favourite Netflix show, only to realize that you've watched an entire 10 episode season and long for more.

This is a book about familial love. It's a book filled with tragedy. It's a book that will transport you back in time. It is a book that will make you FEEL. April (lovingly dubbed "Ape" by her step-brother August (Auggie) is a tragic heroine. There were times when I wish I could guide her through her tortured life, and times when I wanted to hold her and whisper that everything would be okay.

What is this book about? Two child stars in 1970s Hollywood is the easy answer. It's so much more than that, however. It's a look into the human psyche. It explores some dark themes, causing the reader to clutch at their heart, and fall off their chair. It will get under your skin.

Everyone should read this book. It's a classic in the making, and Stone's use of language and expert writing will make you feel as if you're in the room with these characters.

This is the first book I read by Stone, and I have already purchased her other novels. "Tell Me You Love Me" -I do. I really do.++