It took a lot of pages before I began to enjoy this book, but, in the end, it was thought provoking and ended much better than I initially thought it could.
The characters: Mother, Leigh, a teacher. Father, Gary, college professor. Teenage daughter, Kara. Preteen son, Justin.
…more Daughter's friend, Willow. Miscellaneous friends and colleagues of parents.
Mother/daughter and, to a lesser extent, father/son relationships are what this book is about. Neither is explored fully, but are explored around a snapshot in time.
Kara and her friend Willow are riding in Kara's car after school one day, when Kara hits and kills another teenager. The ensuing story is about what you would expect. The important thing is how the characters interact.
Predictably, the mother and daughter, who already have problems, experience some serious alienation. Less predictably, but as a predictable mirror image, the father really can't relate to his son, who isn't very tough or 'manly'. As Gary protects and guides Kara through the aftermath of the accident, his distance from Justin grows, as does Kara's isolation from Leigh, and Leigh's and Gary's from each other. Leigh has expressed concern for the victim, who was a former student, and her mother, and feels Kara needs to take responsibility for her actions, though she isn't sure exactly what that means. Gary is simply protective and considers little else.
Kara's journey through the aftermath of the accident, and how she determines her responsibility and resolves it, is a step up from the introductory chapters of the book. And Leigh, who is not particularly lovable, especially early in the book, becomes much more interesting. Even Gary learns a bit about relating to Justin.
It ends better than it begins. Keep reading. (less)
