The Hollow Inside by Brooke Lauren Davis

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Hollow Inside by Brooke Lauren Davis Kate Quealy-Gainer, Assistant Editor Davis, Brooke Lauren The Hollow Inside. Bloomsbury, 2021 [352p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781547606115 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781547606122 $12.59 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 7-10 Sixteen-year-old Phoenix and her mom, Nina, have been thieving and scheming their way through life, with the main goal being to make it back to Nina’s hometown and take down Ellis Bowman, the now successful business and family man who wrecked Nina’s life as a teenager. Now they’re in town and Phoenix manages to quickly ingratiate herself with the Bowmans; she even ends up staying with them, pretending to be a homeless grieving teen, whom Ellis is more than happy to rescue. Meanwhile, Nina is becoming increasingly erratic and it’s clear she’s planning something awful, and while Phoenix still believes Ellis is a bad guy who deserves what’s coming, she’s not so sure his family should have to be collateral damage. Readerly suspicion of Ellis’ preying on a teenaged Nina is quickly confirmed by flashbacks, and the story soon leaves behind any puzzle piecing to focus primarily on the various toxic relationships that lead to, exacerbate, and result from trauma. Phoenix’s narration is almost painful in her desperation to get Nina to love her and choose Phoenix over her revenge, and her willingness to do anything, even taking the fall for a crime, renders her both pitiable and naïve. That’s an echo, however, of Nina’s own relationship with her father, who was all too easily swayed by Ellis, demonstrating the legacy of unresolved pain between kids and their parents. A surprise twist underscores that point, but a cautiously optimistic ending gives Phoenix a chance to break the cycle and heal. Copyright © 2021 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois