True Places (original 2019; edition 2019)

by Sonja Yoerg

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
223	16	121,633	(3.91)	5
A girl emerges from the woods, starved, ill, and alone ... and collapses. Suzanne Blakemore hurtles along the Blue Ridge Parkway, away from her overscheduled and completely normal life, and encounters the girl. As Suzanne rushes her to the hospital, she never imagines how the encounter will change her-a change she both fears and desperately needs. Suzanne has the perfect house, a successful husband, and a thriving family. But beneath the veneer of an ideal life, her daughter is rebelling, her son is withdrawing, her husband is oblivious to it all, and Suzanne is increasingly unsure of her place in the world. After her discovery of the ethereal sixteen-year-old who has never experienced civilization, Suzanne is compelled to invite Iris into her family's life and all its apparent privileges. But Iris has an independence, a love of solitude, and a discomfort with materialism that contrasts with everything the Blakemores stand for-qualities that awaken in Suzanne first a fascination, then a longing. Now Suzanne can't help but wonder: Is she destined to save Iris, or is Iris the one who will save her?… (more)

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Member:	LoriFox
Title:	True Places
Authors:	Sonja Yoerg
Info:	Lake Union Publishing, Kindle Edition, 347 pages
Collections:	Your library, Currently reading, Wishlist, To read, Favorites
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Tags:	to-read

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True Places by Sonja Yoerg (2019)

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Showing 1-5 of 16 (next | show all)

I found this story intriguing. A story of a family that is so focused on the material side of life that they exist in their home but don’t connect. The mother who tried to keep everything balanced. Then she finds a sixteen year old girl who has lived in the woods and has no idea how to live in the “real” world. They all learn from each other and the lessons are not easy but important. Suzanne is the mother and a wonderful character.
The only downside of the book is the bad language of Suzanne and Whit’s teenagers. (

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LuLibro | Jan 22, 2024 |

I was looking for some "pass timing" reading, and selected this book as I was interested in the setting. I almost quit in the middle but was curious about what was going to happen to the characters, so I stayed with it. I'm glad I did.
And the outdoors person and botanist in you will especially appreciate it. (

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jjbinkc | Aug 27, 2023 |

This was a slow-build at first but quickly turne d into one of those books you just can’t put down. Suzanne, a wealthy mother of two is driving when she discovers a barely conscious girl who’s been living out in the woods. As the chapters slowly unfold, we’re taken through the disconnected lives of Suzanne, her real estate developer husband who’s focused on financial gain, her parents and their dysfunctional marriage, and her children, who have their own set of troubles. Iris, the girl who has no one else in the world is such a fascinating juxtaposition to all the excess of Suzanne’s life, to her own spoiled daughter, and as jealousy and tensions slowly spiraled out of control, I couldn’t stop turning pages.

This was a lovely story of various character journeys that took me on beautiful walks through the mountains of Virginia and through a fractured family who may have hope of finding each other again. A great read.

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
(

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KatKinney | Mar 3, 2022 |

Set in Charlottesville and the Blue Ridge Parkway vicinity, a rather implausible story of a girl and a woman who have to find the place that feels true to themselves. (

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FBGNewbies | Jan 27, 2021 |

I thoroughly enjoy the way that Sonja Yoerg writes. I really couldn't stand a couple of the characters---was there hope for one of them in the end? My only problem was that the "root" of the problem was...money...and in the end....(spoiler alert!!!!)....it was also, the solution. I really wanted another alternative because this was sort of ....too easy. As a story, it was intriguing and the author is free to present it the way she wishes. Iris is...perhaps an almost impossible creation...but again, straight from the author's imagination is fine. (

)

nyiper | Nov 14, 2020 |

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2019

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▾Book descriptions

A girl emerges from the woods, starved, ill, and alone ... and collapses. Suzanne Blakemore hurtles along the Blue Ridge Parkway, away from her overscheduled and completely normal life, and encounters the girl. As Suzanne rushes her to the hospital, she never imagines how the encounter will change her-a change she both fears and desperately needs. Suzanne has the perfect house, a successful husband, and a thriving family. But beneath the veneer of an ideal life, her daughter is rebelling, her son is withdrawing, her husband is oblivious to it all, and Suzanne is increasingly unsure of her place in the world. After her discovery of the ethereal sixteen-year-old who has never experienced civilization, Suzanne is compelled to invite Iris into her family's life and all its apparent privileges. But Iris has an independence, a love of solitude, and a discomfort with materialism that contrasts with everything the Blakemores stand for-qualities that awaken in Suzanne first a fascination, then a longing. Now Suzanne can't help but wonder: Is she destined to save Iris, or is Iris the one who will save her?

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A girl emerges from the woods, starved, ill, and alone ... and collapses. Suzanne Blakemore hurtles along the Blue Ridge Parkway, away from her overscheduled and completely normal life, and encounters the girl. As Suzanne rushes her to the hospital, she never imagines how the encounter will change her - a change she both fears and desperately needs. Suzanne has the perfect house, a successful husband, and a thriving family. But beneath the veneer of an ideal life, her daughter is rebelling, her son is withdrawing, her husband is oblivious to it all, and Suzanne is increasingly unsure of her place in the world. After her discovery of the ethereal sixteen-year-old who has never experienced civilization, Suzanne is compelled to invite Iris into her family's life and all its apparent privileges. But Iris has an independence, a love of solitude, and a discomfort with materialism that contrasts with everything the Blakemores stand for - qualities that awaken in Suzanne first a fascination, then a longing. Now Suzanne can't help but wonder: Is she destined to save Iris, or is Iris the one who will save her?

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