A profusion of poetic genius, The Lauras by Sara Taylor is a book that could make anyone an emotional wreck.

Taylor’s second novel follows Alex and her journey with Ma across the country. We meet Alex at the age of thirteen as Ma rips her out of bed running away from Alex’s rather kind father. Alex is sure that the stint will last only a day or two, but months and states later, she realizes Ma might have something more in mind. Piecing together patches from her past, Ma begins to reveal to Alex the hardships, friends (mostly people named Laura), and experiences that have made Ma the unique, spunky, rule breaking mother she is now. As Ma’s story unfolds, Alex begins to build more of her own story.

Alex is a preteen struggling with the idea of gender, the conundrum of feeling like she doesn’t have a gender, an experience of sexual violation, and the challenges of moving from place to place with only her mother for company. Taylor does a beautiful job of addressing these very sensitive topics in a way that doesn’t feel staged or clinical or planned. Alex is who she is and we, as the reader, never know her gender, and Taylor reminds us in the most subtle ways that we really shouldn’t care. In terms of Alex’s trauma related to the forced sexual experience she has had is portrayed eloquently and nearly perfectly. The PTSD, the feelings of worthlessness, the overly sexual desires, the suicidal thoughts all capture Alex’s dilemma without targeting her as a victim but rather showing her humanity.

The experiences that Alex and Ma have go from interesting to wild fairly quickly, and the reader is dragged along almost unexpectedly on a story of adventure, heartbreak, and transformation. Taylor’s prose, content, and form are all perfectly aligned to bring readers a story that is nearly impossible to put down.

Published by Hogarth Publishing in August of 2017, The Lauras is available for purchase at your local bookstore.

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FTC Disclaimer: This book was given to me in return for a fair and honest review of the text.