Independence

by Evan Balkan

Paris, South Dakota, summer 1976. Fifteen-year-old Lilly is crushed by the news that her mother’s boyfriend will become her father, making her feel lonelier and more invisible than ever. That same morning, she runs into Lee, a handsome and mysterious stranger. It isn’t long before she takes off with him, deeming it a grand adventure across the Great Plains.



New Orleans, Louisiana, autumn 1992. Fifteen-year-old Lindsey has just learned that her father is not, in fact, dead—but will be shortly if the state of South Dakota has its way. As she and her mother embark on a long bus ride north, Lilly slowly opens up, revealing to her daughter the true story of her why she and Lee went on the run, how Lindsey came to be, and the reason Lee is about to be executed for a crime of passion. Independence is an evocative story of true love, youthful mistakes, desperation, and breath-taking betrayal.

279 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 15, 2020

Reviews

[Maggie Ginsberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

From page one, I was drawn into the story of 15-year-old Lilly and older, out-of-towner Lee on their doomed road trip across the Great Plains in the summer of 1976. By a third of the way through, the slow boil tension was almost unbearable. I also found the dynamic between two generations of mothers and daughters equally compelling and quietly agonizing. It would have been easy to draw conclusions about these characters but they themselves didn't allow it — which is my favorite thing about a good book.