The story is about the people and how their decisions affect the rest of their lives.

The protagonists of those two timelines are 15-year-old Rory and 22-year-old Charlie, respectively. The chapters alternate between Topanga Canyon, CA, in 1993 and Little Snake, WY, in 2015. It grew and grew on me and eventually bloomed like a rose. I saw the ratings averaged 3.76 of 5 so I was expecting a good, yet perhaps, forgettable story. I’d like to thank Goodreads, Scribner publishing, and Ms. I was the lucky winner of a copy of this novel through Goodreads giveaways.

But with Rory away on assignment as a war photographer, Charlie knows she must unravel the truth for herself. Realizing that the key to her own existence lies in the secret of what really happened that unseasonably warm fall, Charlie is finally ready to ask questions about her mother's past. Kept Animals is narrated by Rory's daughter, Charlie, twenty years after that fateful 1993 fire. One night, as the relationships among these teenagers come to a head, a forest fire tears through Topanga Canyon, and Rory's life is changed forever. Rory discovers photography, begins riding more competitively alongside June, and grows closer and closer to gorgeous, mercurial Vivian, but despite her newfound sense of self, disaster lurks all around her: in the parched landscape, in her unruly desires, in her stepfather's wrecked body and guilty conscience. Rory's blue-collar upbringing keeps her largely separate from the likes of the Prices-but, perched on her bedroom windowsill, Rory steals glimpses of Vivian swimming in her pool nearly every night.Īfter Rory's stepfather is involved in a tragic car accident, the lives of Rory, June, and Vivian become inextricably bound together. While Rory may have unwittingly drawn the interest of out-and-proud June, she's more intrigued by Vivian Price, the beautiful teenager with the movie-star father who lives down the hill. There she rides for the rich clientele, including twins June and Wade Fisk. Rory Ramos works as a ranch hand at the stable her stepfather manages in Topanga Canyon, California, a dry, dusty place reliant on horses and hierarchies. A bold, riveting debut novel of desire, betrayal, and loss, centering on three teenage girls, a horse ranch, and the tragic accident that changes everything.

Kept animals kate milliken