SATA

Brooke Lauren Davis grew up in rural Southern Ohio. Now she lives in Louisville, Kentucky, where she divides her time between working as an indie bookseller and dreaming up more stories about small towns with big secrets. This is her debut novel.
brookelaurendavis.com
Instagram: @brookelaurendavis

May 08, 2021

Title: The Hollow Inside
Author: Brooke Lauren Davis
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Release Date: May 25, 2021
Pages: 352
Phoenix and mom Nina have spent years on the road, using their charm and wits to swindle and steal to get by. Now they’ve made it to their ultimate destination, Mom’s hometown of Jasper Hollow. The plan: bring down Ellis Bowman, the man who ruined Nina’s life.

After Phoenix gets caught spying, she spins a convincing story that inadvertently gives her full access to the Bowman family. As she digs deeper into their secrets, she finds herself entrenched in the tale of a death and a disappearance that doesn’t entirely line up with what Mom has told her. Who, if anyone, is telling the whole truth?
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My Thoughts
**Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for sending me an Advanced Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest review!**
Phoenix and her mom have spent many years living on the road, stealing things to get by. When they arrive at Jasper Hollow, Phoenix is tasked by her mom to help get revenge on Ellis Bowman, the person who ruined her mother's life many years before.
Then she turns on her heel and strides off, boots crunching over gravel, and I trot behind her like I'm attached by a rope, a boat being towed to shore.
Everything about Ellis seems completely different from the way he was described to Phoenix. When an opportunity comes for her to enter the Bowman household, she takes it up to carry out their plan.
Her mouth had responded in a strange way, with a smile, but a tight one, like she tasted something sour. Because it's mine, she said.
Things on the surface aren't what they seem. Secrets hidden from the past will soon be dug up. What is the truth?
Star Rating: ★★★★☆ (4)
I liked how there were many layers to the story, each slowly unfolding as the story went on. It alternated between the past and the present, which I thought was a nice touch. The characters grow and you see how they aren't at all perfect as they seem to be.
There were many plot twists I didn't see coming and I was very excited to continue reading. The book kept me engaged and it was over before I knew it.
Overall, The Hollow Inside was a great story about secrets being revealed after many years. It kept me engaged throughout and I really enjoyed reading it.

About the Author

Brooke Lauren Davis is the author of THE HOLLOW INSIDE (Bloomsbury YA /May 25, 2021), and she never quite knows what to say when people ask her where she’s from. An unruly child in suburban Virginia, a surly teenager in rural Ohio, and a bewildered college student in small-town Indiana, she’s now a hopelessly book-obsessed adult in Louisville, Kentucky. She loves stories of all kinds, from plays, to ballets, to TV shows, to memories rehashed over the dinner table. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found annoying her pets, haunting bookstores, or shouting Jeopardy! answers at the TV.

THE HOLLOW INSIDE
BY BROOKE LAUREN DAVIS ‧ RELEASE DATE: MAY 25, 2021

Agrifter uses her 16-year-old daughter to exact revenge on the man who betrayed her.

Technically Phoenix isn’t Nina’s real daughter, but Phoenix isn’t her real name either. Her mother bailed when she was 2, and Nina has taken care of her since they fled Phoenix’s father’s house when she was 9. The two survive by separating unsuspecting folks from their belongings, but Phoenix is tired of living on the fringe, and Nina promises that they’ll finally have the perfect life they deserve. All she has to do is dig up dirt about Jasper Hollow, Ohio’s resident celebrity, Ellis Bowman, whose inspirational books put the town on the map. When the Bowmans catch Phoenix spying, she makes up a sob story on the fly. It works, and she’s invited to stay with the gregarious Ellis; his kind wife, Jill; and their teenage twins, Melody and Neil, until she gets back on her feet. As Phoenix gets to know the family and explores her undeniable chemistry with Melody, she wonders if Ellis is really the monster that Nina says he is and realizes that the price of revenge may be too high. The author evocatively captures the feel of small-town life, and Phoenix, whose longing for a family is palpable, inspires sympathy, as does Nina, whose own story is interspersed throughout. Much of the suspense comes from the dread over how Phoenix’s charade will end. Main characters are cued as White.

A page-turning debut. (Thriller. 12-18)
Pub Date: May 25, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-5476-0611-5

Page Count: 352

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Review Posted Online: March 13, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021