319 pages
Published Feb 2, 2014
Age Group: New Adult
Source: ecopy from Author
The last thing eighteen-year-old Ann Leigh remembers is running from her boyfriend in a thick Nebraska cornfield. This morning she’s staring down a cool Italian sunrise, an entire continent from the life she once knew. The events of the eighteen months in between have inexplicably gone missing from her memory.
All at once she’s living with Tommy, an attractive, young foreigner asking for her continued love. Though he’s vaguely familiar, she recalls a boy named Shane in America who she reluctantly agreed to marry. Juggling a new world while her old one is still M.I.A is difficult enough without the terrifying movie scenes spinning a dizzy loop in her mind: glimpses of a devastating house fire, a romance gone wrong, an unplanned pregnancy, and a fractured family – each claiming to be part of who she once was – a girl and a past somehow discarded.
Ann Leigh must collect the pieces of herself to become whole again, but she doesn’t know who to trust especially when Tommy’s lies become too obvious to ignore. And above all, her heart aches to discover what became of the child she may or may not have given birth to.
The Making of Nebraska Brown tells the story of one girl’s coming apart from the inside and the great lengths she’ll go to reclaim herself and find her way home.
The Making of Nebraska Brown is so unlike anything I have read in years! It is jarring and emotional, thought provoking, and intriguing in all the best ways possible. This is my second book that I have had the pleasure of reading by the talented Louise Caiola and my biggest takeaway is that both of her books have made me feel so many things.
Ana or Ann wakes up on the ground in the middle of Italy with no memory of how she got there. Last thing she remembers is being on a farm in Nebraska, which she finds out was 2 years ago. But then the story shifts once she makes her way back to what apparently is her house in Italy. The problem reverse and suddenly she can only remember things from her recent life as she experiencing them and she can’t remember anything from her past. She doesn’t know who to trust and she certainly doesn’t know what happened to her. A ton of different theories flew around in my head, but I wasn’t right about a single one of them.
I became so attached to Ana. Her thought process felt like my own. I trusted her instincts so much that if she didn’t trust something or someone, I didn’t trust them. I felt like I was living the story through her eyes. Louise Caiola has a wonderful talent of being able to transport you inside of her stories. I couldn’t put The Making of Nebraska Brown down. (ha) I had to find out what the heck had happened to her.
I never fully trusted Tommy. I don’t know why, but something just seemed off about him. I will say, that even though I was never completely on board with him. I kind of hoped for a little more from him at the end of the story. I wanted a little more resolution with that part.
The Making of Nebraska Brown is a fascinating mystery. It had to have been so scary and jarring for Ana to experience all of this. Not knowing what the heck was going on. Not knowing what was real and what wasn’t. Having to question everything- even herself. I really felt for her. But not once did I think she was crazy. This book is like a super satisfying, albeit sometimes sad, puzzle. Not everything is happy go lucky but it was still really satisfying to watch her finally start to put some pieces together and see her get closer to some answers. I can’t say enough good things about how refreshing and well done this book is. Do yourself a favor and add this one to your TBR. You will be thanking me.
As a young girl who spent her allowance on Nancy Drew mysteries, Louise realized that one day, she might have a story of her own to tell. Maybe even more than one story. After years focused on raising her children she eventually reconnected with her passion for creative writing. She soon began to craft a large collection of short stories which were published in the inspirational online magazine, Faithhopeandfiction.com. Shortly thereafter, she authored her first novel, Wishless, a contemporary YA, released in 2011.
Louise devotes a portion of each day to honing her skills. She has several other novels currently in various stages of development. A confirmed bibliophile, Louise enjoys reading outdoors on a warm spring day and watching her pup chase leaves on a breeze. She looks forward to meeting others who share her love of the written word and invites you to visit her blog, her website and follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
Website: http://www.louisecaiola.com/
Blog: http://louisecaiola.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lcwritten & https://twitter.com/AuthorLouiseC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/louise.caiola
To enter, fill out the rafflecopter below
a Rafflecopter giveaway
*Note this post contains affiliate links. Any/all money made through my amazon affiliate account goes back into the blog for giveaways.
Valeria @ A Touch of Book Madness
Yes! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!! This book is mind-blowing!! I felt the same about Tommy! No one can be so perfect, and the whole double personality thing, really bugged me. Anne was right to trust her instincts.
I was nervous all the time trying to figure out what happened, and I think I couldn’t have on my own. I was afraid the ending would be too unrealistic and the explanation of it all not satisfying, but it sooo wasn’t!
Louise
Thank you so much, Michelle, for your awesome review! I’m very glad you enjoyed and connected to the story. It’s such a pleasure for me to be featured on your lovely blog once again! And Valeria, thank you for being here and for your sweet continued support of this book! It does my heart good when readers “get it.” I appreciate both of you and hope your followers will give TMONB a try 🙂
Rebecca Hamilton
I completely agree with your review! Louise did such an amazing job with these stories and characters, it all became very real to me while reading! I shared this review from @InkMuse and @immortal_ink on twitter, too 🙂
Mary Preston
This does sound like a wonderful read.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com