3.5 stars 
 Beautiful, alternating long with short, halting sentences. Words often like art on a page sometimes akin to poetry. At other times the writing becomes stark and to the point. I feel like this was purposeful, so that the intense moments of the story break through. 
 In the beginning, I was disturbed. How could a mother let her 12-year old girl spend hours alone before and after school while she works? Is there no one else in her life? No, in fact there isn't. Then, I fell into the story of this two-person family. The past and present were often elegantly visualized through the eyes of this young girl who is both wise and naive. She has love of the mother in her life, but she is very much alone. I picture Caitlin like a fish in the aquarium she visits, one girl in a small tank unknowing of the larger world outside, until the glass breaks. When it breaks, it's a tidal wave. 
 Vann's writing captured me, but some of the moments within the story did not. I should say that I loved portions of this small novel, with many 5-stars and beyond intervals. These portions, descriptions of the fish behind the glass (with mini pictures included - a brilliant idea), beautiful little two-way discussions between Caitlin and the elderly man that becomes her friend, and the big heart of a young child, were exceptional. When we learn who the old man really is, the water of the past is released, and with it went some of what I liked most. What's revealed is a mother scarred as a child, and from it comes hidden anger. The mother, Sheri, remains trapped in the pain of her past, which I understand to a point, but parts of the book became quite cruel. It was a bitter pill for me. Caitlin also holds a secret of her own. Call me old-fashioned, but I think a 12-year old is too young to be pictured in certain situations in what is otherwise a well-written story.