February 16, 2009
The prolific Rice contemplates class, family and math in this disappointing outing. After her husband dies and her eldest daughter, Carrie, runs away, Maggie Shaw moves her remaining brood—level-headed Travis and troubled Beck—from Ohio to Newport, R.I., where she will teach English at the prestigious Newport Academy, where the kids also enroll. Apathetic Beck strikes up an easy friendship with Lucy, who hopes her mathematical prowess will somehow help her bring back her own dead father. Rice’s simple writing style suits the kids well, but doesn’t work as well with Maggie, who has mixed feelings about reconnecting with her estranged sister. All the while, Maggie continues to search for the missing Carrie, who eventually steps onto the page to deliver her side of the story. Beck warms up as the narrative progresses, but the plot becomes increasingly and pointlessly convoluted, lending a soap opera feel to an initially promising setup. It starts strong, but falters and never recovers.
April 1, 2009
Maggie Shaw second-guesses herself all the way from Columbus, Ohio, to Newport, Rhode Island, after two tragedies threaten to tear her family apart. While on vacation, her husband drowned, and her oldest daughter Carrie ran away after surviving the accident. Maggie is uprooting her son Travis, the football star, and her fragile daughter Beck, who mourns the loss of her beloved sister, so she can support the family as a teacher at a unique private high school. Maggies past is anchored to Newport, with her estranged sister and J. D., the man who drove a wedge between them, living nearby. Travis has no trouble fitting in, while Beck immerses herself in math and feels jealous of those whose sisters are still around. The whole family feels the loss of missing Carrie, and as Maggie tries to find her, she also finds a way back to her own sister. The always insightful and engaging Rice explores the mystical bond between sisters as she portrays families learning what it means to love and forgive. Rices countless fans will rejoice.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)