by Abby Frucht ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 2, 1993
Frucht (Snap, Fruit of the Month—both 1988) gives the ``Gift of the Magi'' a contemporary spin as she unevenly limns a very 1990's marriage. The setting is a Middle American town small enough for characters to walk to work but big enough to provide well-paying jobs for the protagonists, husband Douglas and wife Cara—which means that the couple, who love each other very much, as well as their son Georgie and dog Kato, can then spend most of their time with their feelings and each other. Life is all sweetness and light as Douglas does his radio broadcasts and Cara intermittently works at her part-time counseling job; and since they take themselves very seriously, ``they send money to all the right places, never gripe about taxes, and turn off the lights when they leave a room.'' A second pregnancy, graphically described, produces young Max, and Cara feels the family is complete—but 18 months later, Cara is pregnant again. This time, the pregnancy raises all the big questions and emotions that, with supportive husband Douglas, Cara fully addresses. While the debate is conducted with a moving sensitivity, Cara does go on and on—which undercuts the impact of her ultimate choice. After a decision is made, though, a foolish lie precipitates a temporary rupture in the marriage—just as Douglas and Cara (each unbeknownst to the other) have undergone sterilization (``the fear and apprehension and worry'' would be forever lifted). But this is happy-ending country: by the close, the couple become reconciled and reveal just what it is they've done for each other. A moving and thoughtful handling of difficult issues by characters unfortunately more conventional than substantial. And the ending is just too cute, too slick—more a neat solution than a cosmic sacrifice.
Pub Date: April 2, 1993
ISBN: 0-8021-1539-X
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Grove
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1993
Share your opinion of this book
More by Abby Frucht
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
by Abby Frucht
BOOK REVIEW
by Abby Frucht
by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2006
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
Share your opinion of this book
by J.D. Salinger ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 15, 1951
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
Share your opinion of this book
More by J.D. Salinger
BOOK REVIEW
More About This Book
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
APPRECIATIONS
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.