Susan Meissner is definitely on my list of "authors to watch for more books from." What? Don't you have a list like that?White Picket Fences is the second of her books I've read. (The other was The Shape of Mercy.) Both were well-written page turners. Highly recommended!
White Picket Fences is a contemporary story of a teen girl, her extended family, and intriguing ties to the past. I especially enjoyed way a relationship developed between two elderly men in a nursing home and two teen-age cousins. Here's the publisher's synopsis:
Amanda Janvier’s idyllic home seems the perfect place for her niece Tally to stay while her vagabond brother is in Europe, but the white picket fence life Amanda wants to provide is a mere illusion. Amanda’s husband Neil refuses to admit their teenage son Chase, is haunted by the horrific fire he survived when he was four, and their marriage is crumbling while each looks the other way.
Tally and Chase bond as they interview two Holocaust survivors for a sociology project, and become startlingly aware that the whole family is grappling with hidden secrets, with the echoes of the past, and with the realization that ignoring tragic situations won’t make them go away.
Readers of emotional dramas that are willing to explore the lies that families tell each other for protection and comfort will love White Picket Fences. The novel is ideal for those who appreciate exploring questions like: what type of honesty do children need from their parents, or how can one move beyond a past that isn’t acknowledged or understood? Is there hope and forgiveness for the tragedies of our past and a way to abundant grace?
2 comments:
Good job on the review. I don't think I've read anything by this author.
Is this one going to be a give away? Can I sign up for it? It's pitiful how few good books our library has...and I sure don't buy any!
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