The Loyalties

A Novel

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Buy on Amazon Buy on BN.com Buy on Bookshop.org
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app

1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date 21 Jul 2020 | Archive Date 21 Jul 2020

Description

Adults are as lost as the children they should be protecting, as the lives of four people trapped in a conspiracy of silence hurtle toward a desperate and devastating act.
Twelve-year-old Théo and his friend Mathis have a secret. Their teacher, Hélène, suspects something is not right with Théo and becomes obsessed with rescuing him, casting aside her professionalism to the point of no return.
Cécile, mother of Mathis, discovers something horrifying on her husband's computer that makes her question whether she has ever truly known him.
Respectable facades are peeled away as the lives of these four characters collide, moving rapidly toward a shocking conclusion. Delphine de Vigan has crafted a lean, darkly gripping, and compulsively readable novel about lies, loneliness, and loyalties.
Adults are as lost as the children they should be protecting, as the lives of four people trapped in a conspiracy of silence hurtle toward a desperate and devastating act.
Twelve-year-old Théo and his...

Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9780316451628
PRICE $26.00 (USD)
PAGES 192

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (EPUB)
Send to Kindle (EPUB)

Average rating from 15 members


Featured Reviews

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮. 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩. 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩. 𝘼 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙, 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪.

The Loyalties is about abuse by others and the self, it is an interesting story where what we have suffered through colors how we see the rest of the world. It is also about willful blindness and keen observation, depending on the character. When school teacher Hélene begins to see alarming similarities between herself and student Théo, she is on a mission to save him from brutal hands. But how do you know if what you suspect is true? What happens when your intentions put your job at risk, when accusations are hard to prove? Some adults are checked out and others, like Hélene, may be seeing the cracks but be missing the bigger picture.

Théo and Mathis are tight friends, ‘always huddled together’ and to their teacher they seem to form a single entity. In Théo, Mathis was saved from a friendless sea, and he would do anything to protect him. They are lucky to have such an intense bond, a nameless mutual recognition that no one can invade. The things they are getting up to are taking their toll, and Mathis isn’t having fun anymore, in fact he is scared of the games they play. The product of parents whose divorce is both hostile and indifferent, compartmentalizing his world is draining Théo, but he has no one to turn to. Something is deeply wrong, even Mathis sees it. Théo is dealing with problems no twelve-year-old should, problems that are wildly different than his teacher Hélene imagines but one thing is right, he is in danger.

Cécile, Mathis’s mother, has her eyes on the boys. She doesn’t trust Théo, won’t let him drag her son down to wherever it is he is going, even if she can’t name what it is he is guilty of. When her husband isn’t dismissing her concerns, blaming it on her overactive imagination, she is dealing with her own past wounds. Then she uncovers a secret her husband has been keeping and her world unravels but… deep down, she was waiting for the bottom to drop, much like it did in her childhood.

Everything is crumbling and we witness the slow unraveling. Childhood isn’t always the stuff of heartwarming memories, some children deal with physical, emotional trauma and it isn’t Théo and Mathis alone that are learning how to cope. The fragile world of adolescence and adulthood collide, but will Hélene’s good intentions, intuition be enough to save Théo? Who will save the grown ups?

Reading this story I think about all the children juggling their parents, married or divorced, because it’s sometimes about pretending everything is normal, learning what to hide even from your friends or worse, from yourself. Family dynamics can really do a number on us, warping our realities until we feel like split beings- sometimes oblivion feels like safety. Sometimes you have to demand someone stops the ride and lets you out. A thought provoking read. If you haven’t read French novelist Delphine de Vigan before, I also recommend Nothing Holds Back The Night, gorgeously captivating. I am going to write a long overdue review for the book I read years ago.

Publication Date: July 21, 2020

Little, Brown and Company

Was this review helpful?

Really enjoyed this psychological thriller, and anxiously turned the pages, as I wanted to know how it all turned out, for these damaged people. The prose are concise, and the story is totally compelling, however I feel like the end arrived, and wrapped up to quickly. It just ended. I would love to have had each story tied up, but on the other hand, life isn’t neat and tidy. A great, swift read for sure!

Was this review helpful?

Readers who liked this book also liked: