This was the 1st novel I've read by this author. I really enjoyed it and might look for her other ones at the town library.
STORY SUMMARY
Alice Stanhope, and her daughter Zoe, are a family. Zoe has never known her father because Alice wanted it that way. There is a mystery as to why Alice does not want Zoe to know her father. They live in the northern part of California and are very close.
Zoe is 15 and suffers from social anxiety disorder. Alice has been her constant protector. They have always been a team....until suddenly, Alice gets cancer. And it is stage 3. And she must fight for her very life.
Alice needs stability for Zoe so she reaches out to two women: one is a nurse named Kate, and the other is the social worker assigned to Alice's case per hospital regulations, named Sonja. When the four of them come together, there are a chain of events that set into motion and all four must confront their fears,and their darkest secrets. Some of these secrets are about abandonment, abuse, estrangement, and the very deepest longing for family.
and then Zoe learns who her father is........
MY THOUGHTS
Excellent character development and a good paced story line. I liked that there was a teenager in this book and no sexual scenes. Rare nowadays I'm finding!
The author does a great job exploring the whole single mom thing and when you as the reader discover who the father is, it is rather a surprise. At least it was to me. You get some hints along the way but it did surprise me.
The other characters, particularly Kate, really tugged at my heart strings. Her inability to get pregnant or have a viable pregnancy, really plays on the reader's emotion without being sappy. Her support of Zoe and her mom is just so refreshing. I don't want to reveal too much in case you want to read the book but the character Sonja had me gritting my teeth almost the whole way through. She is a social worker who can't see her own dilemna for what it is.....again I don't want to reveal too much. The author really does a marvelous job keeping the drama going along with notes of compassion, humor, and a little romance between Zoe and a new guy friend. You will find your self cheering for Zoe!
This book is appropriate for ages 14 and older in my opinion.
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest I rate this an 8. I would give it a 10 but the horrible editing job makes me lower the score. There were many editing mistakes throughout this book that drove me crazy!!
1 comment:
I've never heard of this author before and I don't think I've seen the book at the library yet.
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