Stillwater Rising

One of the most poignant books that I've ever read, and one that has remained with me for may years since I read it is Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. A book which explores the events leading up to and after a school shooting from the perspective of mothers of the children involved. It was because of this very subject matter that I was drawn to Stillwater Rising by Steena Holmes. I'm a regular reader of books by Steena Holmes having loved her Finding Emma series a few years ago and I had high expectations that she would tackle this sensitive subject matter in a way that would be both emotional and enjoyable. I anticipated lots of exploration of the emotions of the characters and perhaps some of the moral dilemma I felt after I read Picoult's novel.

Based in a small oceanside town called Stillwater we meet Jenn and Charlotte. Both women are trying to move on from the recent shooting at the local elementary school where 10 children and 2 teachers were killed by a local teenager in a mass shooting. Jenn has lost her son Bobby and is trying to come to terms with her loss but is finding it difficult to cope with constant reminders around her such as the school still being open and her daughter having to return. Charlotte is the town mayor and wife of the school principal and is trying to hold her small town together and ensure every member of their community is cared for, including the mother of the teen responsible for the killings.

When the book started I was really optimistic, the character situations were perfect to make from the book a real emotional read, I expected lots of dialogue between the women about the events that had taken place and how they were healing. Instead I was left feeling that the surface of the book had never quite been scratched. Had we focused purely on the two main characters in the book there is a possibility we may have been able to gain the insight I hoped for, however we also have a number of other stories running alongside and a large amount of characters from the town who pop into and out of the dialogue frequently but not often repeatedly. They pop up on the radar and next thing they are gone, plot fillers not developers.

It began to strike me that Stillwater Rising was Ninteen Minutes meets Cedar Cove, a sort of mellowed down version of Picoult's novel where the real gritty moments of what has happened to our characters will never quite reach the surface, instead there was an ongoing layer of respectability about it all as our characters dotted around between the school fayre, teddy bears picnics and parades. It was wonderful for building the community of Stillwater but I never really got the answers I wanted about the events of the shooting and really what the mothers who lost children experienced. It's never fully addressed only hinted at as a retrospective moment they are trying to forget.

This is also a relatively short book, I could see lots of places where the story could be going then suddenly realised I had only 3 chapters left. Suddenly it became clear. Holmes wasn't writing one book about Stillwater, she intends to write many. This book is perhaps her first glimpse into the world she has painted with many more stories in mind. In fact the culmination of this book leaves us with a real cliffhanger that will lead into the next novel, one which perhaps will give us more insight into the events on that fateful day.

I didn't dislike the time I spent with Holmes' Stillwater characters but for me it was more fluff and filling than emotional exploration for me and I have to say I was a little disappointed. I don't think I'll look back and remember this as a standout book for me, I personally have read the author produce better work and for this reason I would explore other novels by her but next time I would probably approach Stillwater and it's subsequent books with less high expectations.