Here We Lie - Paula Treick DeBoard

Here We Lie by Paula Treick DeBoard

First Paragraph(s):

It was raining and I was going to be late.
     The press conference was scheduled for ten o'clock and by the time I found a parking space in the cavernous garage, I had twenty minutes.  I slipped once on the stairs, catching myself with a shocked hand on the sticky rail.  Seventeen minutes.
     I followed a cameraman toting a giant boom over his shoulder, navigating a path through the crowds of the capitol.  Thank goodness I was wearing tennis shoes.  I passed a group of schoolchildren on the steps, prim in their navy blazers and white button-down shirts.  Their teacher's question echoed off the concrete.  'Who can tell me what it means that we have a separation and balance of powers?'
     Only one hand shot into the air.
     Balance of power, I thought.  A good lesson for today.

My Thoughts:

Here We Lie is the second book I've read by Paula Treick DeBoard.  I read The Drowning Girls last year and liked it well enough.  This novel though was quite absorbing, and I had a hard time putting it down.  I hate over-using the term 'timely' for a storyline, but that is exactly what this book was - timely.  Two young women who were roommates at a small female college - Megan from the Midwest with not much money - Lauren from New England with a wealthy family, father a US senator, mother a 'fixer' of family problems.  Each girl doesn't exactly reveal the complete truth to the other about their previous lives, partially because they are ashamed, and partially because they want to appear cool.  The summer before their senior year comes around and something really tragic happens.  There are assumptions and lies and misunderstandings.  They go their separate ways for 15 years.  And then, Lauren's brother is accused of sexual assault and misconduct and the events of that long ago summer have to be revealed.  The story is told by both Lauren and Megan and rotates back and forth between the past and the present.  As I said, I was caught up in finding out who and what and why.  The ending is fairly abrupt and I might have liked a bit more there, but I was satisfied.  I'll be watching for this author's next book and as there are two books by her that I haven't read yet, I'll be looking for those as well.

Blurb:

Megan Mazeros and Lauren Mabrey are complete opposites on paper. Megan is a girl from a modest Midwest background, and Lauren is the daughter of a senator from an esteemed New England family. When they become roommates at a private women’s college, they forge a strong, albeit unlikely, friendship, sharing clothes, advice and their most intimate secrets.

The summer before senior year, Megan joins Lauren and her family on their private island off the coast of Maine. It should be a summer of relaxation, a last hurrah before graduation and the pressures of postcollege life. Then late one night, something unspeakable happens, searing through the framework of their friendship and tearing them apart. Many years later, Megan publicly comes forward about what happened that fateful night, revealing a horrible truth and threatening to expose long-buried secrets.