Phoebe Lansing is babysitting for Brook and Michael Bostock, watching their daughter Tilly until older son Liam arrives home from prep school for Christmas break. When Liam arrives with his roommate and older brother, drunk, Phoebe is disappointed in her friend and accepts the scotch offered to her. Soon she too is feeling the effects of the alcohol and finds one of the boys kissing and groping her against her will while Liam, in a drunken stupor, does nothing to stop him. She manages to fend the boy off but can’t hide the bruises from her parents.
Phoebe’s father, Troy, assumes it was Liam who attacked her, and Phoebe does not admit to the truth. Liam decides to protect the older boy he looks up to and claims he was too out of it to remember what really happened. Liam’s history with drinking and Brook’s wealthy family prompt Phoebe’s family to press charges against Liam for sexual harrassment, and the Bostocks for responsibility in the incident, citing the Social Host Liability law. Both families find their worlds torn apart and Liam and Phoebe find it harder to maintain the lie they’ve both told.
A Place for Us is told from the points of view of Brook, Michael, Liam and Phoebe, including flashbacks to events in their lives that shape who they are today. Brook lost her mother at an early age and has had to break away from her two much older half sisters, and Michael is living with his own demons related to his alcoholic father and an incident that occurred during his own teen years that broke his friendship with Troy. The characters are well drawn and their emotions and fears are all too real.
This novel is a gripping cautionary tale about the dangers of underage drinking, secrets that can destroy a family and finding our place in the world. The third person close perspective puts the reader in the characters’ heads without getting too close. As the parent of a tween, I know the reality of teenage drinking and peer pressure aren’t that far off, and the struggles that both parents go through in wanting to protect their children are all too familiar. Brook and Liam are both yearning for acceptance in the small town where Michael grew up and handle their fears in different yet similar ways, and both learn to rely on those around them in their times of need.
There are scenes in A Place for Us that are not always easy to read, but the topics it covers are important and relevant in today’s world of social media and peer pressure. I recommend this novel to parents of teens or anyone who loves them.
Tanya says
Sounds like a book with a lot going on. I bet I wouldn’t get bored with this one. Great review!