A slight confection that spares no heartwarming family cliché, but one that acknowledges the unique challenges of today’s...
Manhattan matron struggles to keep the family peace when her wildly divergent twin daughters are invited to a debutante ball.
With blueblood origins—if not inclinations—Olympia Crawford Rubenstein is sweetly nostalgic when she receives an invitation for her 18-year-old twins Veronica and Virginia to attend New York’s toniest coming-out ball. A former debutante herself, but now a busy lawyer with a five-year-old son by her adoring second husband, Harry, Olympia knows that the days of rich girls finding suitable husbands at such society events are long over. Still, she thinks it would be a nice opportunity for the girls. Boy-and-shopping-crazed Virginia agrees, and she is overjoyed at the idea of wearing a white dress to the fancy party. Her more serious left-leaning sister, however, thinks the whole ritual is ridiculous and refuses to go. Olympia’s ex-husband, Chauncey, a polo-playing blowhard, not only insists that his daughters make their debut, but he even threatens to cut off their college tuition unless they both participate, unfairly pitting the sisters against each other. Harry, an otherwise mensch of a judge, wants nothing to do with the waspy tradition, believing it to be elitist and anti-Semitic. That is why he is disappointed when his Holocaust-survivor mom Frieda, thinking it will be great fun, agrees to go as a family guest. Olympia is left stuck in the middle, and needless to say, additional stresses, such as a punk-rock escort, an ill-advised tattoo and an unexpected bout of chicken pox nearly derail her careful attempts to make the evening work. And then there is Olympia’s dutiful eldest son Charlie, a college senior, who, it is repeatedly noted, seems preoccupied and sad. What ever could be wrong with the boy? Hint: Coming out is not just for debs anymore! Fortunately, compromises are made and family bonds prevail in Steel’s short and syrupy latest (The House, 2006, etc.).
A slight confection that spares no heartwarming family cliché, but one that acknowledges the unique challenges of today’s mixed families.Pub Date: June 27, 2006
ISBN: 0-385-33832-5
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2006
A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.
A promise to his best friend leads an Army serviceman to a family in need and a chance at true love in this novel.
Beckett Gentry is surprised when his Army buddy Ryan MacKenzie gives him a letter from Ryan’s sister, Ella. Abandoned by his mother, Beckett grew up in a series of foster homes. He is wary of attachments until he reads Ella’s letter. A single mother, Ella lives with her twins, Maisie and Colt, at Solitude, the resort she operates in Telluride, Colorado. They begin a correspondence, although Beckett can only identify himself by his call sign, Chaos. After Ryan’s death during a mission, Beckett travels to Telluride as his friend had requested. He bonds with the twins while falling deeply in love with Ella. Reluctant to reveal details of Ryan’s death and risk causing her pain, Beckett declines to disclose to Ella that he is Chaos. Maisie needs treatment for neuroblastoma, and Beckett formally adopts the twins as a sign of his commitment to support Ella and her children. He and Ella pursue a romance, but when an insurance investigator questions the adoption, Beckett is faced with revealing the truth about the letters and Ryan’s death, risking losing the family he loves. Yarros’ (Wilder, 2016, etc.) novel is a deeply felt and emotionally nuanced contemporary romance bolstered by well-drawn characters and strong, confident storytelling. Beckett and Ella are sympathetic protagonists whose past experiences leave them cautious when it comes to love. Beckett never knew the security of a stable home life. Ella impulsively married her high school boyfriend, but the marriage ended when he discovered she was pregnant. The author is especially adept at developing the characters through subtle but significant details, like Beckett’s aversion to swearing. Beckett and Ella’s romance unfolds slowly in chapters that alternate between their first-person viewpoints. The letters they exchanged are pivotal to their connection, and almost every chapter opens with one. Yarros’ writing is crisp and sharp, with passages that are poetic without being florid. For example, in a letter to Beckett, Ella writes of motherhood: “But I’m not the center of their universe. I’m more like their gravity.” While the love story is the book’s focus, the subplot involving Maisie’s illness is equally well-developed, and the link between Beckett and the twins is heartfelt and sincere.
A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-64063-533-3
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Review Posted Online: Jan. 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
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