#2: Little Mercies

I first heard of Heather Gudenkauf when I lived in Ohio and read the book Weight of Silence about two girls who go missing in Iowa.  I really liked that book and especially loved reading an Iowan author.  When I was looking at the new release section at the library, I saw a new book by Gudenkauf and thought I'd give it a try.

Little Mercies was the story of Ellen Moore, a social worker for DHS in Iowa.  The story is set in Cedar City, IA (maybe a combination of Iowa City and Cedar Falls?).  The story opens with Ellen forgetting to set the alarm.  The whole family is rushed to get to everything on time and while she is driving to a meeting she gets a call from one of her child clients.  She makes a detour to help the girl and then the unthinkable happens, changing her life forever.

Intertwined with Ellen's story, is the story of a 10 yr old girl named Jenny.  She lives with her alchololic father in a string of rundown apartments and hotels.  They are hoping to make a new start in Dubuque, IA, but arrive at a problem right before the bus leaves.  Jenny ends up finding herself in Cedar City, IA.  The book switches through both stories throughout the book

I liked the story.  I just felt it was a little too predictable in some parts.  It almost had a little bit of a Picoult flare to it.  It wasn't as good as the Weight of Silence, but I think I would still read more books by Heather Gudenkauf.