
When We Were Worthy – Frat House Reads
Being a part of the planner community has given me so many wonderful things, and becoming acquainted with author Marybeth Whalen is definitely one of them! I read her book titled The Things We Wish Were True last March, and I was hooked. I couldn’t wait for the release of When We Were Worthy.
For me, one of the hallmarks of a Really Good Book is that the characters stick with me, months and even years after I’ve finished reading the book. If I find myself in any given situation and randomly think, “I wonder what so-and-so-character would think/do about this,” then that book was a winner for me. Marybeth writes what I call “Stealth Characters”… they sneak into my subconscious unnoticed while I’m reading the book, and then they randomly pop into my head sometimes months later.
When We Were Worthy takes place in a small town in Georgia, where a car accident upends the lives of the entire community. The narrative shifts focus amongst four women who are involved with and affected by this accident in various ways. I personally enjoy books that employ multiple narrators, and I never found the shift between points of view jarring or distracting.
As the story unwinds in four different-yet-related directions, little glimpses at what might have happened or what might happen next are sprinkled throughout and kept my attention. More than once, I thought I had things figured out, and in one case I was correct. In one case, I was way off (I love it when that happens!).