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Review: The Deepest Roots by Miranda Asebedo

The Deepest Roots is a touching story about friendship, mysteries, and the necessity of maintaining your roots. I know, that pun was bad, but I couldn’t resist.

Summary

Cottonwood Hollow, Kansas, is a strange place. For the past century, every girl has been born with a special talent, like the ability to Fix any object, Heal any wound, or Find what is missing.

Best friends Rome, Lux, and Mercy all have similar talents, but to them, their abilities often feel like a curse. Rome may be able to Fix anything she touches, but that won’t help her mom pay rent or make it any easier to confide in Lux and Mercy about what’s going on at home. And Rome isn’t the only one. Lux has been hiding bigger, more dangerous secrets.

As Rome struggles to keep her friendships close, she discovers the truth about life in Cottonwood Hollow—that friends are stronger than curses, that trust is worth the risk, and sometimes, what you’ve been looking for has been under your feet the whole time.

Review

book review deepest roots by miranda asebedoThe friendship between Rome, Lux, and Mercy kept me emotional long after the book ended. This is the kind of friendship I wish I had growing up. Don’t get me wrong, I had fantastic friendships, but I wanted this in-sync-ness with a trio. They have been best friends for as long as matters, but even we keep secrets from those we love most. Their friendship is genuine. That’s the best description I can come up with it, because this authenticity is what drives the story.

(Another thing I love about Asebedo’s story is the timeliness of a part of the story that deals with rape/sexual assault culture. Since a character in the story is a siren, who can lure men and manipulate them – much like the myth – it is brought up about whether people will believe her story regarding men’s unwanted attention. This just hit me hard because not only was it so emotional, but also tragic because the rhetoric, to me, seemed to mirror the blame the victim rhetoric that we hear so often. Often victims are accused of doing something to warrant their assault, and so this felt particularly tender).

And what a story. There’s haunted houses, mysterious talents, and an underlying theme of the need for sisterhood. Rome, Lux, and Mercy uncover a secret that could destabilize their entire group, that could bring all their carefully constructed lies to the ground. It’s a story that requires bitter truths, reconciliation, and teamwork.

(A theme that Asebedo explores is the line between blessing and curse. One person’s blessing could be another person’s curse. And too often the line is too blurry. Is it about what we make of the talent? Is it about what other people see in our talents? Is it a matter of perception?)

But where this story truly shines is their friendship – seriously, how many times can I say this? It brought tears to my eyes. It’s so raw and genuine full of heart, mistakes, and sisterhood. They each have their own problems, baggage, and fears but they still lean on their friendship. Asebedo captures the ups and downs of friendship perfectly, the cruel words we say that we know cut, and the ways we seek to bridge that gap.

Check out The Deepest Roots on Goodreads.

Discussion

Are you someone who likes to be surrounded by friends or just a few close ones?


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