Surviving Valencia by Holly Tierney-Bedord – Review by Anna Hirsch

Surviving Valencia by Holly Tierney-Bedord
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Surviving Valencia by Holly Tierney-Bedord
4 Stars

This is a story about a girl who lives in the shadow of her sister, struggling to find her self worth and become someone. Growing up in a household with her older siblings Van and Valencia was hard. The twins were practically perfect. Van the jock and Valencia the cheerleader. Both were vivacious, friendly and popular. She was the complete opposite. She was bland, introverted and had no friends. Her parents practically ignored her. She was invisible. Valencia was the only one who saw her. She was twelve when they died. Her life was forever changed. Somehow seemingly impossibly, it got worse. Her parents took their anguish out on her. They yelled at her, grounded her or ignored her. All she ever wanted was to fit in and be accepted.

The book is written from the first person point of view which allows us to fully understand what she is feeling. Never once throughout the book do we learn her name. I think the author was smart in doing this. It adds to the main character’s unremarkability. Her whole life is dedicated to living vicariously through others and not making waves. It is a sad story of a depressed woman living in the past and struggling to deal with specifically the loss of her sister.

This book was cleverly written with many twists and surprises that you never see coming. This is definitely not a joyous story with a happily ever after ending. It is a book with much deeper meanings, showing how death affects everyone differently. The author shows how one event can change your life drastically. It was a gripping tale of self discovery.

Review by @Anna Hirsch
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