I had to let this book take over my life for a few days. Ortiz's narrative is powerful and relentless: she doesn't look away from painful and complicated truths, forming memory into incredibly textured characters. Wendy's troubled situation and her development into a young adult are compelling as shaped by a writer skilled in crafting sharp scenes. So many moments from this book will stay in my head for a long time.

Excavation stopped my heart. Its story is vital, cracking open a dialogue about what we keep secret and how those secrets shape our lives. The narrative is direct and unflinching, pulling you, challenging you, the kind of read where you call in sick because ohmygod what happens next; but between those moments, Ortiz hits pause and looks back, allowing the reader to breathe with her, to reflect with her, to "wrestle with ghosts," in language so breathtakingly beautiful, so precise and poetic and true.

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