The Truth About Melody Browne, by Lisa Jewell

BOOK REVIEW 
[no spoilers]
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The Truth About Melody Browne, by Lisa Jewell
★ ★ ★ ★ Loved it!
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I don’t know about anyone else, but this one stuck me right in the heart. Melody Browne is a character you can root for from start to finish. 
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Melody Browne has always lived partly shrouded in somewhat of a mystery. When she was only nine, her father saved her from a terrible house fire, but along with all of her belongings, the fire incinerated every memory she had up until that point. Now she’s thirty-three, drifting through her life in London, only grounded by her seventeen-year-old son. In the midst of an awkward first date, Melody is hypnotized and to her embarrassment faints, but that fateful moment was the secret key to unlocking her past. As her memory returns in flashes, she realizes there are many many things and people from her past that don’t quite match up with the history her parents have given her in place of memories.
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Switching between the past and present, Lisa Jewell proves once again that she can successfully write from a very young character's perspective and multiple timelines. Similar to The Family Upstairs, but written earlier in her career (2009), this one is slightly lighter than some of Jewell’s other darker works, such as Then She Was Gone, but still firmly grabs hold of you.
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As Melody investigates, the reader discovers the truth about her childhood right alongside the main character and you become instantly invested in her story. If you know Jewell’s writing, you know that she is a master of suspense, creating tension, and utterly unique characters along the way. Although this is more drama than thriller, Jewell offers another page-turners that was easy to fly through and kept me hooked. 
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I read this book in three sittings, not able to put it down once I hit the halfway mark. There’s a certain smoothness to Jewell’s writing that is enjoyable to read, despite the many characters, and the two timelines. She executes the realness of family drama, loss, and growing up, which she also captured so elegantly in The Family Upstairs. There’s something about experiencing family drama through the eyes of a child that, I think, we can all relate to.
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My favorite character: Melody. She was an interesting young girl who really noticed the world and people around her the way some people never do.
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My favorite quote: “Melody Browne opened her eyes and saw the moon, a perfect white circle, like a bullet-hole shot through the sky.” 
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Click here to purchase The Truth About Melody Browne, by Lisa Jewell.

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