I was invested in the world and characters in this book, it had that element that I was hoping for from the description. It uses the genre to its advantage and was engaged with what was happening. The characters worked well in this world and had that development that I was hoping for. Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum has a strong writing style and am excited for more.

this was such a good, interesting book! It was tense and creepy at times, but had the undertones of love and care shining through. I did like the themes of loneliness, family, growth, and love. It was an interesting topic, and this book kept me interested the whole read-through!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Set in the gloomy city of Seattle in the 1950s, the novel opens with a high profile mystery case involving the sudden appearance of an undomesticated girl Atalanta who allegedly attacks two prison guards and is described to be as wild as a rabid dog. Having been discovered on the remote island of Elita, Atalanta’s disheveled appearance as well as her severely underdeveloped language and cognitive development draws a copious amount of public attention from the small tight knit island community, making her a subject of speculation and judgment. Due to the public nature of the case, several interested parties become involved to investigate the origin and figure out a plan of rehabilitation for the mystery girl. The narrator Bernadette, a passionate and maternal child language specialist and professor, is hired onto the case to provide consultation and assistance. While the investigation unfolds, Bernadette’s domestic life is shaken up as she struggles to draw a clear balance between her keen interest in the case and caring for her precocious four year old daughter Willie as a single mother.

Right off the bat, I was quite impressed with the storytelling and the ample character building which is typically pretty lacking in most mysteries/thrillers. Bernadette makes for quite an intriguing and effective narrator - she is sharp yet vulnerable, intuitively strategic and fiercely independent in the face of many tragedies she suffered in her early teens. I especially enjoy the social commentary on the limitations women like Bernadette encounter while working in a male dominant field like academia, and the guilt that comes with having ambitions and wanting to make a life of her own beyond being a wife and mother. The “women belong in the kitchen” sentiment is still quite pervasive given the time period of the novel, which makes me appreciate Bernadette even more as she remains steadfast and refuses to be defined by her circumstances or the labels other people confine her to. Her relationship with her daughter Willie is absolutely adorable to read about.

On the mystery front, I did find the pacing to be a bit slow especially towards the later half of the novel. It felt like the main plot line of the mystery girl Atlanta took a backseat as Bernadette’s personal life was disrupted by the sudden introduction of a new character (who I will not reveal due to spoilers). Frankly, my curiosity about the case waned as the domestic drama was dialing up and the investigation was lead astray by a bunch of red herrings. It just became too much of a drag for me to actively follow.
Apart from Bernadette, I also enjoyed the relationships she established with other characters, especially the local islander Signe who was very maternal towards Bernadette.

Overall this is quite an atmospheric read with strong characterization and solid suspense buildup. The storyline is very original as well, I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a historical mystery with a remote island setting.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of the ARC. All opinions are my own and not paid for.

I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. DNF at 18%. There wasn’t enough action or suspense to keep my interest in order to continue.

I enjoyed this book. I do think that the author leaned a little too heavily into the academic speak, which is going to make it less accessible for a wider audience.

It is winter 1951 in the Pacific Northwest. Bernadette Paston is an academic, specialising in child development and language acquisition. She lives alone with her young daughter Willie (Wilhelmina) after her husband left without explanation. She lets her employer believe she is a widow because if they knew she was married she would probably lose her job.

She is offered the opportunity to consult on a fascinating and disturbing case. On the nearby island of Elita, abandoned apart from housing a prison, an adolescent girl has been found living wild in the woods. She cannot speak, shows no signs of being socialised and is described by the prison guards who find her as like an animal.

Elita is a complex novel, bringing together many strands and themes, and sometimes feels like several books in one. There is an understated literary novel about motherhood and childhood and Bernadette’s observations of how Willie develops as a person, contrasted with her impressions of Atalanta and her broader research. As a mother and an academic, she often finds a conflict between her intellect and her emotional and embodied drives.

Then there is the story of female imprisonment and pressure to conform, exemplified, in different ways, by Atalanta and Bernadette herself, as well as some of the secondary characters. Finally there is the mystery surrounding Atalanta’s history and how she came to be abandoned on the island.

The relationship between Bernadette and Willie is where Elita is strongest, in my view. I didn’t feel the shift from realism to melodrama in the theme of women’s confinement was quite convincing. There is a beautifully rendered sense of Bernadette’s mounting paranoia, and an almost hypnotic quality to the writing, but it seems out of kilter.

Bernadette’s role is supposedly to work directly with Atalanta but we see very little of that in Elita. The focus of the story is much more on Bernadette investigating how she came to be found, along with a local police officer. Bernadette’s research trips to Elita and the neighbouring island, Adela, give a strong sense of place, and of the paradox of island life – where you are both isolated from the world and known intimately by your community. However it’s not clear why she takes on this role, or why the police and social worker let her.

As a crime fiction reader I was wondering why several lines of investigation weren’t being pursued and why the police had a fairly lackadaisical approach to what would have been a high-profile case. Once we learn the truth about Atalanta, it still left me with questions about Atalanta’s behaviour and the role of the prison and its personnel.

I did really like the quality of the writing in Elita and the more literary, introspective parts were, for me, the most effective. There’s much to think about – how we develop a sense of self, how we learn to understand each other, and how power permeates every institution – from the prison to the family.

This book almost seemed like it was written just for me. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and studied Linguistics, with a focus on Child Language Acquisition. From the very start I was hooked, Bernadette was a complex and very human character to lead this story. I loved her relationship with her daughter and her commitment to her work, despite societal pressures. I was under the impression that this book would focus on the lost child, Atalanta, but I’m glad she wasn’t the sole focus simply because Lunstrum constructed such a beautiful story with so many moving parts.

The writing was delicate and beautiful, with a special focus on the impact and importance of language as a tool for communication. I absolutely adored every single moment of reading, this was a slow burn but it was plotted with precision and care. Every interaction was necessary and every side character added so much to the story itself. While Bernadette is hell bent on solving the mystery behind Atalanta, she also rediscovers herself and this was an incredibly moving process to read. There were so many passages and moments in this book that were nothing short of astonishing to read. A perfect book about being and choosing what to fight for, one I’m sure I’ll remember for a long time.

This is both an interesting and fascinating novel

Atalanta Doe, is 17 but looks 12 and she also does not speak. When Professor Bernadette Baston is asked to evaluate the girl she embarks on a professional and more personal mission.

Bernadette is supposed to teach Atalanta to speak but what she does so much more.

What a read! This is fabulously written and the most intriguing of plots.

Highly recommended