As a member of a real-life book club, I feel that a virtual one might cut out a lot of the frustrations, Brookeborn
14: Whistle in the Dark - Emma Healey
15-year-old Lana - already a troubled, self-harming teen making occasional threats of suicide - mysteriously goes missing on a painting holiday with her mother, Jen. 4 days later she's found, bruised, wet and exhausted, claiming to have no memory of what happened to her. The novel traces the aftermath as Jen struggles to deal with the fallout, get to the bottom of the mystery and somehow deal with Lana's hostile, uncommunicative presence in a household where treading on eggshells has become the norm.
I dithered over buying this when it was 99p a few months ago, but the reviews put me off. Then I bought a charity-shop copy recently and raced through it, which is, yet again, a reminder not to be overly swayed by Amazon opinions. I really enjoyed the writing and the detailed evocation of the family's (often claustrophobic) domestic sphere - I thought Emma Healey captured family life with pinpoint accuracy.
I don't have teenagers but I also felt that the portrayal of stroppy, surly, contemptuous Lana - and Jen's terror of putting a foot wrong in dealing with her - seemed very realistic. No spoilers but there's a satisfying conclusion at the end, too, thank god.