Book Reviews of The Bright Forever

This book was extremely touching for me. It really made me reflect on the "if only I had done or said this" moments we all have in our lives. The story is based on the disappearance of a 9 year old girl and it follows the actions and emotions of each of the characters involved in her disappearance. I loved the way it painted the pictures of these people. Even those responsible were not made out to be truly "evil" only misguided to a point that brough about a tragedy. This book is definately one of the best books I have read so far this year.

Lee Martin’s second novel, “The Bright Forever,” is a captivating story about the disappearance of nine-year-old Katie Mackey from a small town in Indiana thirty years ago. Like the comparable “Mystic River,” “Forever” is told from the points of view of the different townspeople and neighbors of the missing girl, each chapter being a first-person account from each person as to his or her version of the events that fateful night.

Martin has created an exquisite page-turner, filled with small-town sensibilities, with the requisite small-town atrocities. One does not expect a heartbreaking crime to happen to them, especially in such a trusting town. In a time when people slept with their front doors unlocked and kept a lazy eye on their children, Katie’s disappearance affects all who knew and knew of the young girl.

Each individual narrator of each first-person chapter has a distinct voice that comes alive on the page. The desperate loneliness of math teacher Mr. Dees, the young arrogance of Katie’s brother Gilley, and the unfamiliar fear the people in the town feel for newcomer Raymond R. Wright, are just a few examples of the vivid feelings Martin is able to capture without exception.

As the reader absorbs the eyewitness accounts, by default they are seeing into the hearts and minds of each witness. Each quirk, every feeling of uncertainty and all displays of moral outrage are placed in full view of the reader, as the character waits for judgment or redemption.

While the “Mystic River” comparisons may be unavoidable, “The Bright Forever” is, in it’s own right, a masterpiece that draws emotion from the reader like its literary counterpart, yet deserves its own category of individual praise. The reader will be entranced by the story from the get-go and held on until the end by a string of unnerving suspense and quiet disbelief.

A little girl disappears and the story is told from several points of view. Is it always the one you suspect? Maybe not...A quick read, great for vacation.

I read this book very quickly! It was a dark story, and hooked me in the beginning, the middle lagged some, but then it was worth sticking to the end. Interesting perspective on one event from many different viewpoints. Easy to read.

I thought this was a very heartfelt and touching book. I felt so bad for Katie's family losing her the way they did. I could have thought of a few ways to get revenge upon her killer(s). I gave this book 4 stars.

Definitely a page-turner, but I was a bit disappointed by the ending. I was expecting some big surprise because of the reviews I've read, but the ending was predictable. Still a good read, though.

Engrossing tale of small town people not accustomed to exraordinary happenings, and how they cope when tragedy hits. Anyone from a small town will understand completely as will urban dwellers. Great book!!!!

I really enjoyed this book, its is about how one small choice or moment in time can change a life forever.

I normally give a book 100 pages or so if I am not getting interested in order to let the book get going. I gave this one about 20 pages, the story was so circular I couldn't understand what was going on and truly it was so wordy that I was sure I wouldn't want to know what was happening. This one gets good revies everywhere I looked, but for me it was just punishment to continue.

I couldn't put this book down. Definitely easy to read and a page turner. Very well written!

Well-done mystery. Multiple narrators slowly reveal what happened to a missing girl. You see the ending coming, but the book doesn't suffer because of this. This book avoids the worst trends of fiction about small towns where every character is either perfect or a freak.

quick read, narrator changes throughout book, suspenseful

Outstanding. I was hooked from the very first chapter: "Raymond R: "I'm not saying I didn't do it. I don't know". Awesome writing. Great character delineation. Masterful buildup of suspense. I coudn't put it down. Had to read in the tub. Take with me to lunch with a friend, in case she was late. Read past my bedtime. Worthwhile. I read fast and read a lot of books. Lately, have been running into mediocre books, which I won't continue. They don't hook me. They don't interest me. This is definitely a thumbs up!

Wow, what a book. I was not expecting a story as haunting and gripping as this one. I was memorized from the first line to the last. It a gripping tale of lives inner twined and the results of greed, lust, anger and dare I say love all climaxing in one desperate moment of human failing. You suspect from the beginning who committed the crime but what you don't know is why and your not really sure you do know the answer. The story, told in a matter of fact manner, follows the books characters as they each reveal their secrets. Secrets that sometimes would be best left in the dark recesses of peoples minds. Like a scab on your knee that you just can't help but pick this book leaves you with that feeling. You want to put it down and walk away but you can't. It follows you until the last page and the last word has been read. It tugs at your mind and will leave an imprint on it forever.

I have never read a book by this author before. I enjoyed this book very much. It was written as if the main character in the book was talking to you and telling a story, and asking you "to stick with me" and you will get your answer to the the question of who-dun-it!

In the Bright Forever, Katie, a sweet nine-year-old girl goes missing from her small town in Indiana. The story unfolds through different characters' voices. It is a successful device that really moves the novel along and makes it a page-turner. Katie's tutor, Mr. Dees, is a particularly memorable character--creepy yet sympathetic.

I really enjoyed this book.. A nine year girl goes missing and the story is told from the perspective of her tutor, a neighbor, her brother and the town...Will keep you guessing until the end...

Eh. That's how I felt after reading this book. It's not memorable, but not terrible either.

The way Lee Martin wrote this book was interesting and allows you to get to know the characters well. The subject matter is not a happy one but this is a good read.

This book was a difficult read at times, due to the subject matter. Having the story told from many points of view was unusual, but interesting. This was a quick read, but a story that will stay with me for quite some time.

Story of 9 year old Katie Mackey who disappears in a small Indiana town. Very touching book told by the points of views of different people; Her Math Tutor, his neighbors, her older brother Gilley...etc. Very touching book. Quick read, kept me interested entirely to the end.

This book has some lagging moments but overall was a good read. Dark moments in the book but liked the style of telling the story from several different town peoples perspective. Great book that gets you to think.

read it in an afternoon, good book

This is a great read!

good book

this was a very good book. surprising and amazing. i loved it.

I found this book totally captivating, probably because it was written in the first person (at least I think this is the correct label-- as in the author was writing to the reader (and stating this directly). It follows the fine tradition of telling the story from several different viewpoints, and the story unfolds both quickly but also with exquisite anticipation, a hard line to follow.

This was a very good read. It kept me interested all the way to the end. It gets to the heart of why people are the way they are and do the things that they do.

Good, fast read.

"Harrowing and Beautiful book. One of the most powerful I have read in years." -Bret Lott

An easy read. Not quite as good as The Lovely Bones, but still engaging.

Excellent, captivating book. Couldn't put it down.

Very good tale of how a missing 9 yeard old child affects the lives of many in a small community including her family members.

A very interesting book with an interesting structure. Was a little slow in the middle, but very enjoyable.

A trip back into the south of my childhood, when little girls were innocent of possible dangers.

Definitely not a happy story but beautifully crafted and it held my attention to the very end.

well written and disturbing

On an evening liek any other, nine-year old Katie Mackey, daughter of the most affluent family in a small town on the plains of Indiana, sets out on her bicyle to return some library books. This simple act is at the heart of The Bright Forever, a suspenseful, deeply affecting novel about the choices poeple make that change their lives forever.

This book was really good. It was sad though since it was about a missing 9 yr. old girl and how it affected so many different people's lives.

I really liked it alot. It is cool how the story is told from different points of view.