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Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake) | FICTION ROB | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
What if everything you knew about your life was wrong?
Years ago, Juliet Clark gave up her life in California to follow the man she loved to Mexico and pursue her dream of being an artist. Now her marriage is over, and she's alone, selling watercolors to tourists on the Puerto Vallarta boardwalk.
When her brother asks her to come home to wintery New England and care for their ailing mother, a flamboyant actress with a storied past, Juliet goes reluctantly. She and her self-absorbed mother have always clashed. Plus, nobody back home knows about her divorce-or the fact that she's pregnant and her ex-husband is not the father.
Juliet intends to get her mother back on her feet and return to Mexico fast, but nothing goes as planned. Instead she meets a man who makes her question every choice and reawakens her spirit, even as she is being drawn into a long-running feud between her mother and a reclusive neighbor. Little does she know that these relationships hold the key to shocking secrets about her family and herself that have been hiding in plain sight....
CONVERSATION GUIDE INCLUDED
Author Notes
Holly Robinson is an award-winning journalist whose work appears regularly in national venues such as Better Homes and Gardens , Family Circle , Huffington Post , Ladies' Home Journal , More , Open Salon, and Parents . Her first book, The Gerbil Farmer's Daughter- A Memoir , was a Target Breakout Book. Robinson holds a BA in biology from Clark University and an MFA in creative writing from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. She and her husband have five children, two cats, a grumpy hamster, and two very stubborn small dogs.
Reviews (2)
Kirkus Review
To love or not to love, and how? And just exactly what is love, anyway? Those are the questions 40-year-old Juliet Clark faces when she gets a call from her brother asking her to return home to care for their aging mother, who is recovering from a broken hip. Juliet is in the throes of a divorce she didn't want, and she's pregnant, to boot--although not by her soon-to-be ex--and doesn't much like her mother anyway. But she loves her brother, and his lawyerly persuasion prevails. She leaves her freewheeling artist's life in Mexico for a Massachusetts winter with her self-centered, demanding, theatrical mother. Desiree hasn't changed, and the pair resume bickering as if Juliet hadn't lived away for decades. Thus begins what at first appears to be a typical mending-a-mother/daughter-relationship story. Thankfully, about a third of the way through, a series of small revelations lifts the book out of its potential slide into predictability. There are relationship twists aplenty: relationships rearranged and reassessed, relationships that grow and others that die, and brand new relationships to explore. When Juliet finds the answer to her question about love, it leads her to make tough decisions about the course of her life. Robinson's fiction debut is a good beach read for those who like to reflect on the complexity and messiness of family relationships.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Juliet Clark knew things were too good to be true. She followed her husband to Puerto Vallarta, selling her paintings almost faster than she could finish them, until Michael declared that he didn't love her anymore. While Juliet slowly starts putting the pieces of her life back together, she learns that her mother, Desiree, has broken a hip and decides to fly back to the Boston suburbs to care for her. Juliet and Desiree have always had a tense relationship, but after Juliet discovers a few of her mother's deepest secrets, their already rocky relationship may be forever altered. Robinson's first novel sparkles with warmth and wit while tackling the prickly sides of a mother-daughter relationship. Juliet and Desiree are real and relatable heroines, and Robinson's background in journalism shows in a clear, concise writing style. With deeply emotional passages tempered by humor and some surprising romance, Robinson's portrayal of family members striving to forge deeper connections after self-imposed absences is compelling. Fans of Martha Southgate and Heidi W. Durrow will enjoy this tender, full-hearted tale of quiet triumphs, mended fences, and new connections.--Turza, Stephanie Copyright 2010 Booklist
