Many thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the debut novel by Hannah Thurman. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!
The Cross sisters have lived their entire lives on the sprawling grounds of Mercy Hill, the Raleigh mental hospital run by their formidable mother, Lisa. Since childhood, JJ, Caro, Mimi, and Denise have been inculcated with their mother's mission: they'll work alongside her to protect Mercy Hill from the fate of other state hospitals across the country, which are being gutted and closed, one by one. But Mercy Hill faces great scrutiny and Lisa pushes her children even harder.
I truly enjoyed spending time with this book and the Cross sisters. Told from the viewpoint of Denise, the youngest, and taking place in the late 1990s-early 2000s, this is a coming-of-age story as well as a look into mental health treatment. My heart hurt for the way Lisa pushed her girls - skipping grades in school, following a path long laid out for them to become doctors to continue work at Mercy Hill. Neither parent was aware of the bullying happening at school nor the secrets the girls kept. This is a very character-driven novel and it's so interesting to see how the girls, raised the same way, handled the pressures and expectations differently. Wonderful debut and I'm looking forward to more from this author!
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