Cartwheel by Jennifer duBois
Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: September 24, 2013
Categories: Psychological, Literary
Source: Random House via NetGalley
Description:
When Lily Hayes arrives in Buenos Aires for her semester abroad, she is enchanted by everything she encounters: the colorful buildings, the street food, the handsome, elusive man next door. Her studious roommate Katy is a bit of a bore, but Lily didn’t come to Argentina to hang out with other Americans.
Five weeks later, Katy is found brutally murdered in their shared home, and Lily is the prime suspect. But who is Lily Hayes? It depends on who’s asking. As the case takes shape—revealing deceptions, secrets, and suspicious DNA—Lily appears alternately sinister and guileless through the eyes of those around her: the media, her family, the man who loves her and the man who seeks her conviction. With mordant wit and keen emotional insight,Cartwheel offers a prismatic investigation of the ways we decide what to see—and to believe—in one another and ourselves.
My Thoughts:
I couldn’t help but think of Amanda Knox while I was reading Cartwheel. Amanda Knox was a young American woman convicted of murdering her roommate while studying in Italy. I didn’t follow her case closely but even I saw the parallels between fact and fiction.
One of the enjoyable things about Cartwheel is the range of perspectives the author offers us. We’re able to see things from the point of view of many characters. There are myriad answers to the questions raised in this book…the answers only depend on whose perspective you believe.
I wanted to believe in Lily Hayes. I wanted to believe that she was innocent. And I did…most of the time. As a character she was complex, frustrating, and completely believable.
Cartwheel is a wonderfully written page turner that I wholeheartedly recommend.
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| Jennifer duBois |
Who is Lily Hayes? What happened to her roommate? No two readers will agree. Cartwheel will keep you guessing until the final page, and its questions about how much we really know about ourselves will linger well beyond.
The Relentless Reader 