Saint X is a Phenomenal Journey

What can I say about this one?

Almost a week after finishing this one, it's still with me. I don't usually dwell on books for so long, even ones I love, and I certainly didn't expect to be so affected by this one. But the emotions spilled off the page and forced me to examine so much...Alexis Schaitkin hit it out of the park.

I've seen Saint X on NetGalley for a while, and it looked pretty good, but I have so much on my TBR that I passed right over it. I assumed it would be good--Celadon's recent title The Whisper Man is one of my new favorites. But I figured Saint X would have to wait.

But then it showed up at my door as part of the Celadon Reads program. What to do, what to do!?

I was hooked from page one, that's what, and I finished in a few days.

On the fictional Caribbean island of Saint X, seven-year-old Claire is on vacation with her family when her eighteen-year-old sister Alison disappears. When her body is found several days later, two men, employees at the resort where they're staying are arrested--they were supposedly the last to see her alive. But they're quickly released. Much like the true story of American Natalee Ann Holloway, who disappeared in 2005, Alison's story becomes tabloid fodder, and her broken family has to return home without the justice they feel their beloved sister and daughter deserves.

Years later, Claire comes across Clive Richardson, one of the men accused and released. She begins shadowing him, hoping to finally find the answers surrounding her sister's death. But she finds the truth may be far more destructive than she once thought.

Alexis Schaitkin has produced an achievement of a novel. Exploring race and class, and the myriad of perspectives our lives are composed of, her words will grab you by the throat and force you to examine difficult truths. You will feel immersed in the world she has created, as you watch this complicated (but at the core, so simple) story unfold next to each viewpoint character. It will toss everything you think you know about the plot on its head. I highly recommend searching this book out when it's released next February. I'll be talking about this one for quite a while.

Thank you to Celadon Books and their Celadon Reader program for sending this ARC for review. It was truly a privilege.