Book Review – The Roanoke Girls

by Amy Engel (Hodder and Stoughton) ISBN: 9781473648395

Fifteen year old Lane goes to live with her unknown grandparents following the unfortunate death of her mother. Here in rural Kansas she meets her cousin Allegra for the first time. The girls become inseparable, drawn to each other in their beauty and sameness. Allegra tries to teach Lane what is means to be a Roanoke Girl, but for Lane the price to too much to pay, and she runs away from the family farm.

Eleven years later, Lane gets a call that changes her life. Allegra is missing and Lane has no choice but to return to the home she despises. Roanoke holds secrets and stories that Lane uncovers as she goes in search of the truth behind Allegra’s disappearance.

Moving between the present and the past, The Roanoke Girls is a haunting, disturbing story that delves into the darkness lurking in familiar places.

Will Lane be able to do what no other Roanoke Girl has done before? Will she overcome the siren song of her homestead and all it demands of her? Compelling and disturbing, this is a story you won’t soon forget.

Merissa Himraj
4.5/5

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