The heart-breaking story, We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates does an astounding job of introducing you to beautiful family and then crushing your heart once you’ve gotten to know them.

Corinne and Michael Mulvaney live on a beautiful High Point Farm just outside Mt. Ephraim, New York. They are the parents of four beautiful children – Michael, Patrick, Marianne, and Judd. The Mulvaney’s are the owners of a huge farm. Each of the Mulvaney children own their own horse as well as other animals such as dogs and cats. Everyone knew the Mulvaney family, they were perfect. That is until Valentine’s Day, 1976, the day something tragic occurs involving Marianne that will change the Mulvaney family forever.
I was able to put forth the same feelings of pain, sadness, and guilt as Marianne which pulled me deeper into the book as I felt connected to the character. My favorite part of the story was discovering the incident that occurred the night after prom involving Marianne. The traumatic event grabbed my attention and took control over my heart. Although I fell in love with the Mulvaney’s, I do have one complaint. This involves Corrine’s decision to send Marianne off to live with a relative as a way to avoid their problem and keep the Mulvaney family reputation clean.
I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone. This book has the ability to get under your skin and take full control over your emotions. Once you pick this book up, you will not want to put it down. I hope you give this book a try and enjoy it as much as I did.