When I began reading Breaking Twig, I thought perhaps it was a YA novel. As I delved deeper, I discovered that it was definitely adult novel. Rebecca, affectionately called Twig by her father and best friend, loves to garden with her father and to hear the stories her Grandpa tells. After the death of her grandfather and father, she is left with her brutally, unaffectionate mother, Helen. Helen remarries and Frank is a wonderful man, but the son that comes with him is not. Donald rapes Twig at age 12 and continues to torture her throughout her life. Helen controls every aspect of her life, often beating her senseless. Just as I thought her life would end, Twig manages to learn how to save herself. This compelling, yet heart-wrenching book will keep you engaged. Oh my god, this book. There are only a selection of fictional characters that my heart has ached for as much as it did Becky Leigh. The endless ordeal that this girl faced from her childhood to early adulthood was heartbreaking and Breaking Twig packs as many emotional punches as life does at Becky herself. As the victim of her mother's horrific emotional and physical abuse, tragedy and trauma seemed to follow her around and it was devastating to witness.Yet I was still hooked by this book. It was SO vividly written and Epperson is an excellent storyteller. The characters were brought to life by the description and dialogue and I was that drawn into their lives that I felt as if I was right there with them. They were really complex and pretty much all as messed up as each another; Becky's mother was poisonous yet a fascinating character and the relationship she had with her daughter was just dynamite to follow, especially as Becky grew older.One particular turn of events - I don't want to give anything away but it'd be blindingly obvious which one I mean to anyone who's read the book - temporally made me panic that the book would be ruined because it was such a big plot twister but once I'd gotten over the initial shock, it only added to the impact Breaking Twig had. This was a really dark read and Becky's strength and survival was amazing considering all of the misery life threw at her. Despite all of the darkness, this book didn't feel 'heavy' at all to actually sit and read. It flowed along so successfully that I was hooked and struggled to put it down at all.I don't even know how to express how much I enjoyed this book; it was fantastic.
What do You think about Breaking Twig (2000)?
Really great book to read. You cheer for the main character Twig to the end of the book.
—ZivaDavid
Good story. lost a few hours of sleep on this one
—jp122
