Book Review: The Floating Girls by Lo Patrick

My Rating:

 2.5⭐

Twelve-year-old Kay Whitaker lives in the wetlands of Bledsoe, Georgia with her parents and is the youngest in the family with three older siblings, fifteen-year-old Peter, Freddy who has an aptitude for science, and Sarah-Anne who hardly speaks and we assume is developmentally challenged. Their life at home isn’t the most fulfilling, barely able to afford the most basic of necessities. Their father has a temper and is for the most part unemployed and their mother hardly interacts with any of her children except for Sarah-Anne. Kay’s youngest sister, Elizabeth died shortly after birth and is buried under an oak tree in their front yard. Her mother has never been the same since.

Kay is mostly bored and lonely with no friends to spend her time with. Venturing deeper into the marshlands on her own, she discovers a house on stilts and meets its occupants- Andy Webber, a boy her own age and his father Nile. She is eager to befriend Andy, even developing a crush on him. But her father warns her to stay away from the Webbers, an order the rebellious Kay promptly ignores. Andy Webber’s mother Emily had drowned in the marsh years ago under mysterious circumstances and it was originally suspected that Nile was responsible for it though nothing came of the suspicions and they had left the area and have recently returned from California. As the story progresses, it is revealed that the Whitakers and the Webbers were not unknown to each other and have a history. When Kay’s sister Sue-Anne disappears without a trace, many lies and secrets that the adults have been harboring rise to the surface and change the lives of everyone involved irrevocably.

Initially, I was drawn to the story, the immersive setting and the interesting characters. The tone of this novel is for the most part dark and depressing with an intriguing mystery woven into the narrative. The characters of Kay and her siblings are very well-written as are some of the passages. However, despite its promising beginning and interesting premise, I was disappointed with the way the story progressed. The vivid imagery of the backwaters and marshlands that is almost perfect in setting the backdrop and tone of the novel quickly becomes repetitive and largely redundant with the author constantly reminding us how hot, humid, marshy or cold it is. The narrative slows down considerably and drags through the middle of the novel till the end. Some of the supporting characters’ reactions and behaviors in grim situations read more like caricatures than real people. If the author was aiming for some humor to offset the depressing tone of the novel, it did not work. I did not find any part of this novel “wickedly funny” as described. My heart ached for the Whitaker children and their miserable childhood with parents whose attitude towards them is negligent bordering on abusive. I can also see how that would harden their hearts and compel them to act like adults. Kay, our principal character, is mature for her age in part and behaves like a rash, insolent child in others. She tells it like it is unlike her siblings, which lands her in the face of her father’s wrath more than once. Her dialogue is mature for someone her age, riddled with profanity (which is fine up to a point after which it’s headache-inducing). I also felt that some of the decisions taken by the police and Child Services in the interest of the Whitaker children simply did not make any sense. The plot is riddled with holes and the resolution of the “mystery” was vague and left me with more questions than answers after such a long drawn build-up.

Lo Patrick's The Floating Girls has potential, I will admit this much but unfortunately falls short in its execution. However, mine is a minority opinion and I would request readers to go through the other reviews before deciding on this novel. Having been intrigued by the summary, I truly wanted to love this novel and its characters and it pains me to give such a low rating to such a promising premise.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for a digital review copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.