Seventeen years ago, Wilson ditched his first family for Caroline, a beautiful young sculptor. In all that time, Taisy’s family has seen Wilson, Caroline, and their daughter Willow only once.
Why then, is Wilson calling Taisy now, inviting her for an extended visit, encouraging her to meet her pretty sister—a teenager who views her with jealousy, mistrust, and grudging admiration? Why, now, does Wilson want Taisy to help him write his memoir?
Told in alternating voices—Taisy’s strong, unsparing observations and Willow’s naive, heartbreakingly earnest yearnings—The Precious One is an unforgettable novel of family secrets, lost love, and dangerous obsession, a captivating tale with the deep characterization, piercing emotional resonance, and heartfelt insight that are the hallmarks of Marisa de los Santos’s beloved works.
What I Say....This post comes to you from sunny Kauai. I am happy to say that read this book from front to back on the flight. It was incredible. Marisa de los Santos has always written melancholy so very well that you find yourself pulled into the sadness of the characters, identifying with your own life.
"The Precious One" was one of those books for me. The family relationships were written so well. Some people aren't born into the families that they deserve. Some people shouldn't get to have a second family that they treat better than the first. But they do. And even though it's not fair, those you leave behind have to live with your choices, and the impact that it has on their sense of self-worth. "I wasn’t stunned. I knew how easily some people could let go of their children.", says Taisy as her boyfriend stared at her "full of the bewilderment of one who’s been adored by at least two, sometimes three, sometimes four parents his entire life.". This for me has always been the hallmark of de los Santos's writing, those truths laid bare.
The parallel story to Taisy was told by 16 year old Willow, her sister that she has never had any type of relationship with. Willow is trying to navigate high school for the first time along with feelings of guilt for her father's recent heart attack. She has a lecherous teacher, who is quietly grooming her sexually, although she is much too innocent to realize what is happening.
The character tying them together is their shared father, Wilson. And his story is just as compelling. When you finally learn his backstory, it helps to make sense of his behavior, but it doesn't excuse it, it doesn't take it away or make the damage that he has done over the years any less tragic.
No spoilers here. This is a book everyone needs to read for themselves.
Thank you, Edelweiss and William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I honestly give this book 5 stars.
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