My Name Is Venus Black by Heather Lloyd

Posted on by Carol @ Bookaria
My Name Is Venus Black by Heather Lloyd
Published February 27th 2018 by Dial Press
368 pages | Goodreads

Description: ❝Venus Black is a straitlaced A student fascinated by the study of astronomy—until the night she commits a shocking crime that tears her family apart and ignites a media firestorm. Venus refuses to talk about what happened or why, except to blame her mother.

Adding to the mystery, Venus’s developmentally challenged younger brother, Leo, goes missing. More than five years later, Venus is released from prison with a suitcase of used clothes, a fake identity, and a determination to escape her painful past. Estranged from her mother, and with her beloved brother still missing, she sets out to make a fresh start in Seattle, skittish and alone.

But as new people enter her orbit—including a romantic interest and a young girl who seems like a mirror image of her former lost self—old wounds resurface, and Venus realizes that she can’t find a future while she’s running from her past.❞ (end of description)

MY RATING: ★★★★★ (5/5)

REVIEW
An excellent book about new beginnings, family relationships, and forgiveness.
When I first started listening to this audiobook, I did not expect to end up loving it. As the novel progressed I became irrevocably engaged with the characters and their stories.

The book begins with Venus being released from prison and follows her journey as she tries to start a new life for herself while at the same time wondering what became of Leo, her younger brother who has been missing for years.

In prison, Venus served a sentence for a crime she commited when she was 13. The story is told from alternating points of view and takes place in Seattle and California. The novel has great characters, elements of family dysfunction, and forgiveness.

Overall, I loved it and recommend it to all readers.