Well, it made me cry, so it definitely got me in the feels.

They say the best stories are where you put your main character up in a tree and throw rocks at her.

In this case, Shelly wasn't up in a tree, she was in a house with so much clutter the dog got lost and died in it, and was never found. There are books everywhere, and her mother doesn't let her throw away pizza boxes that still have some left.

It is so bad. She has no friends, is taking classes on line, and still has one more year before she is 18 and can leave the craziness of her mother's hoarding behind.

Good story about the effects that this sort of mental disorder can have on a family, and how hard Shelly works to try to keep things slightly normal, while her mother goes downhill.

Gut wrenching, and I wasn't sure how it was going to end.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

Wow! I needed a break from Fantasy, and Buried Beneath smacked me in the face with its realism--but in a good way. Shelly and her mother have been on their own since Shelly's father left them. What Shelly begins to understand as she grows up is her mother is a hoarder. Although Shelly is able to keep the outside of the house and the yard--Shelly is amazing with plants and flowers--immaculate, keeping her mother's secret becomes increasingly hard. Add to that a seemingly out of the blue plane ticket to Florida from her father and a new relationship with Joshua, and Shelly's life that she has worked so hard to keep up the appearance of normalcy unravels.

I love Kelly Ann Hopkins' treatment of Shelly's journey from being the adult in the parent/child relationship to recognizing that she must take care of herself first. It is fraught with questions, setbacks, and pitfalls and is free from over-sentimentality. Her treatment of Shelly's mother's hoarding disorder is realistic without falling in the trap of sensationalizing it.

Buried Beneath is an important book for classroom and library shelves because students (and adults alike) need to see characters overcoming obstacles, taking control of their lives and out of control situations, and coming out on the other side stronger.

I read this book in 1 sitting. I could not put this book down. It was so well written and detailed in the descriptions of the storyline and characters’ feelings. It is a great book for young adults/teens to feel like they are not alone in holding responsibility for their parents’ actions.

Hoarding is a disorder that is not written much about. This book gives you an inside perspective to living with a hoarder. It feels real and it still manages to have a happy ending.