“He killed all those kids backstage,” Daisy said. “He shot both Will and I. Then he jumped off the stage to keep shooting. I guess you can look at it a hundred different ways but nobody will ever know his plan or intentions. He’s dead. My friends and my teacher are dead. And the rest of us… We died in different ways.” And so begins the riveting tale of Daisy and Erik. More intense than a modern day Romeo and Juliet, Give Me Your Answer True begins with ballerina Daisy (French for her given name of Marguerite) recounting the events of April 19, 1992 in Mallory Hall, the performing arts theater in Lancaster. As students prepared for daily rehearsal, James Dow entered the premises with the intent to kill. And kill he did. Lives were lost on that fateful day, but it is the living who suffer. The entwined lives of best friends Daisy, Erik, Will, and Lucky are thrown into a bitter struggle to recoup and regain the stability that once was.

Suanne Laqueur, award winning author of The Man I Love, creates a written dynamic between her characters that is both rare and mesmerizing. Laqueur’s gift of written dialogue remains focused throughout the text, alternating between humor and despair in an intriguing dance of emotions. Descriptive passages bring a three-dimensional quality in the ability to link with the reader’s personal experiences of the heart. The author’s command of the English language brings characters and plot to a visual reality. Reading Give Me Your Answer True made me yearn to be part of the tightly-knit circle of friendship Suanne Laqueur creates. I found myself talking to the characters and praying for a happy resolution. Daisy’s journey out of the depths of darkness have stayed with me for days after turning that last page. I LOVED this story.

Give Me Your Answer True by Suanne Laqueur is the second book in The Fish Tales. The story follows the life of Daisy Bianco after her breakup with Erik Fiskare. Before I give a brief rundown of the story, let me just say that the novel was beautifully written. The narrative was excellent and very well written. The story is a re-telling of the first novel of the series, but it is from Daisy’s perspective. And as I have not read the first novel, there was nothing that I was missing or felt was confusing.

Daisy loved Erik, he was the love of her life and her one mistake cost her his love. Now she is just a shell of the woman she used to be. Erik’s total silence almost killed her, the only relief she feels is when she cuts herself. If it weren’t for Opie, she may have spiraled deep down into self-destruction. Although she is able to create a life for herself and get out of the depression, she is still waiting for Erik, wishing and hoping that he would come back to her.

There is a lot of angst in the novel and a lot of emotion. The story showed great depth from Opie and how he helped her rediscover herself. I loved the friendship and affection between these two and how they stood by each other and didn’t let anything get in their way. The romance element was also really good. I really liked the way the story unfolded and became so tangible I could almost taste it. Very good narrative, well chosen words.