I know I am completely overgeneralizing here, but hear me out. Someone once told me that Americans have this need for hope in their television shows, some sign that things are going to get better. In contrast, British television has no problem showing the darker, more realistic side of life. This is why the American version of the popular television sitcom The Office needed to be tweaked to illustrate more positive relationships and outcomes to appeal to American audiences. I’m sure I could do some research and find a more eloquent way to explain this, but I don’t want to steer too far from my point. And this isn’t a research paper, so no, I will not cite any sources, Mrs. Flannery.
Saving Sophie gripped me from the beginning. I devoured the novel in a few sittings (and if it weren’t for my job, and things like eating and showering, it likely would have been just the one). There were so many questions, I just had to know how it all came together. The suspense and pace of the plot was spot-on; I never felt like it was dragging. The tempo held my intrigue but still allowed for strong character development of the two women. The relationship between Karen and her daughter Sophie was well done. Aside some questionable decisions (why are these 17-year-olds out partying every weekend and no one cares?), Carrington created an interesting dynamic between the troubled duo, each struggling with their own missteps but ultimately conceding and working together. It seemed a realistic portrayal of a mother and teenage daughter attempting to navigate the distance between them in the midst of crisis.
(Spoiler alert: Do not read further if you do not want details on the ending.)
I can’t say I was completely thrown by the ending, particularly because it was obvious that some characters were involved in some way; in particular, the character of Amy seemed a little obvious and cliché. She reminded me of the high school kids on an episode of Law and Order who choose to cover up a murder to protect their popularity status. A big frustration came from witnessing Sophie make decisions to trust these characters time and time again, but perhaps that is accurate. It’s difficult for a teenager to doubt his or her best friends to see through to the truth. Still! Sophie! Wake up. Your naivety is making me stress eat.
So, now we’ve taken the scenic route to my point. The ending. (Note: I don’t typically discuss endings in any great detail so as not to ruin or deter others from enjoying a book, but my overall impression of Saving Sophie is greatly impacted by it.) As an American, how depressing. Sophie is now an agoraphobe just like her mother, her mother is dead (right?), her father is likely in prison, and the cherry on top is that all of it could have been prevented if someone had just said something. I tried to understand their logic of keeping it a secret; Karen didn’t want her husband or the public to know of her online tryst, and Sophie somehow enjoyed the death of her friend and it was documented. She may even have been involved in the murder, though we’ll never know. Amy and Dan also are involved, and for whatever reason, we don’t want them to get in trouble either. Except that I do. Each time one of the characters rationalized why they weren’t going to the police, I physically shook my head in disapproval. It’s one thing for the teenagers to look at the situation in this self-centered way, but for 40-something-year-old Karen? Why is she not seeing the bigger picture? What mother would risk the welfare—and even life—of her daughter to prevent putting a strain on her already declining marriage?
(End spoiler.)
As you can see, I would be an active participant in a book club discussion of this novel. Perhaps it is the American in me, but I just didn’t get the closure that I craved from the ending. That said, it was still worth a read, and it’s a quick one at that.
Rating: 3 / 5 stars
Publish date: Dec. 15, 2016
I started: Oct. 4, 2016
I ended: Oct. 8, 2016
Old Fox Reviews 