This Golden State - A Family on the Run

 

I started reading This Golden State by Marit Weisenberg last week. It’s about a family that is constantly on the run. I haven’t finished this book yet, so I’m going to give a brief summary of the family and their current situation. 

Poppy is an 18-year-old girl, whose family is always on the run. Her mom, dad, and 8-year-old sister Emma always stay hidden from society. They move across the country a lot, and never stay in one place for long. Poppy isn’t allowed to use any form of technology, drive a car, and college is definitely out of the question. For all she knows, she will just be hiding from the government for the rest of her life. 

Her family is so good at hiding, they even keep secrets from one another. Poppy knows nothing about her family’s past or her parents’ identities. She knows they did something wrong; why else would they be running all the time? And apparently, her little sister Emma, has a habit of stealing things and can act older than she actually is. 

Although Poppy really wants to have a “normal” life (stay at a school long enough to at least finish the year, be able to see the movies without a bunch of police showing up), she is willing to do anything for her family, just like they will do for her. 

But one day, her family just unexpectedly moves to California from Florida. Poppy isn’t expecting this; usually, she’s able to tell when the move is happening a couple of weeks before, based on her parent’s behaviors. But this time is different. And it’s not only the fact that the move is so long and so sudden, but it seems that Poppy’s mom may have some connection to their new neighborhood. All of a sudden, her mom, who never went outside to avoid recognition, is taking mysterious walks. And during one of the first few days, Poppy sees a photograph on the dining table, which immediately disappears the next day. She wants answers. 

At the same time, tension in the family is high. Poppy’s dad is really upset that her mom is starting to let her guard down. Emma is also upset, because she, being an 8-year-old, wants more attention and her parents aren’t giving it to her. To escape her house, Poppy decides to sign up for an 8-week accelerated summer math class. Poppy genuinely loves math, and although her parents usually don’t allow her to participate in activities outside of school, they let her attend this math class. 

As Poppy goes to this math class, she experiences more of a “normal” life. Part of her really wants this life for herself, and even thinks about joining this “normal” world, where kids stress about college instead of someone seems to recognize who you are. The other part of her knows that she can’t, she needs to stay hidden to protect her family. There’s also that fact that her mom is acting really strange. Overall, Poppy just feels sad, a little angry, and confused. 

I like this book for two reasons: 

1) Marit Weisneberg shows how much of our life we take for granted. There are so many things that seem normal to us, but Poppy is experiencing for the first time as an 18-year-old. For example, Poppy does not have access to the Internet or a computer at her home, and she isn’t even allowed to listen to music. While it is easy to just blame her parents as strict, her parents just want to keep the family safe. If Poppy owned her personal computer, then the family couldn’t stay hidden. I haven’t read enough of the book to understand what would happen if their cover was blown, but it’s implied that it would be pretty bad. Poppy knows this, but it kind of shocked me how detached her family is from modern-day society. 

2) All of the family members have a complex background, maybe even a hidden life. The mystery that surrounds each of Poppy’s family makes these characters more interesting. As mentioned before, the family’s whole life is a secret, and they keep secrets from one another. The new life in California is causing some family members to start spilling their secrets, and Poppy realizes that she might not be the only one in her family that hates moving from place to place all the time. The unspoken words of each character (the emotions and thoughts they have that they don’t even share with each other) makes the book more engaging to read because each secret gives a bit more information for Poppy to answer the question she’s been dying to know her whole life: Why is my family different? 

I’m enjoying This Golden State so far, and I look forward to finishing the book!

~ Sarah Thomas