Come Down Somewhere. Jennifer L. Wright. 2022. [September] 400 pages. [Source: Review copy]
First sentence: The army moved in on a Sunday.
Olive Alexander, our young teen protagonist, is angry that her family home--a ranch--is being "taken over" by the army. She'll be sent to live with her grandmother, her brother is heading overseas, and her mother (and uncle) will stay behind on the ranch to continue to oversee the ranch. She's new to town (Alamogordo, New Mexico) and starting (traditional) school for the first time. Her best chance for finding a good friend ends abruptly. Turns out the other new kid, Jo Hawthorne, is the daughter of the sergeant who has "taken over" the ranch. Jo consistently pursues a friendship; Olive resists. But these two have a LOT in common, and given enough time these two might just find a forever friendship.
Come Down Somewhere is set in New Mexico during the later years of the Second World War. The army is about to conduct a super-secret ultimately dangerous experiment that might just end the war. There are TWO narrators and two time periods. Jo Hawthorne is narrating the "present" mid 1950s storyline. Olive Alexander is narrating the "past" mid 1940s storyline. Both storylines are driven by angst and uncertainty.
Because of how the narration unfolds, there is plenty of suspense and tension in the relationship between the two women, the two narrators. One mystery being WHAT happened on the day of the test and HOW that day ultimately shaped both of them.
I would categorize Come Down Somewhere as a historical coming of age novel. Olive and Jo--in the past--are definitely struggling as they grow up during a stressful time.
It is published by a Christian publisher. But part of the angst-driven narrative is about the ups and downs of life--mentally, emotionally, spiritually. In the past storyline, Olive is ANGRY and resistant to any idea of God. God, quite frankly, doesn't exist so she insists and its how she lives her life. Jo, on the other hand, while still struggling very much with the harshness of life still holds onto her faith and views God as being her salvation. She doesn't insist that Olive share her faith. There are no conditions on her offer of friendship. In the present storyline, Jo is ANGRY and resistant to any idea of God. God deserted her in the desert (couldn't resist). Her faith, her trust, her hope in God is practically nonexistent. So part of the tension is also how did Jo come to this place in her life...and where does she go from there.
As I mentioned, there is plenty of tension and conflict in this one--in both stories. It did have a mostly unexpected twist. Well, actually several twists but not all equally unexpected. It was a good read.
Though it is Christian and though it is historical, it is NOT in anyway a romance.
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