April 9, 2018
The latest from Pekkanen (The Wife Between Us) is a by-the-numbers domestic drama in which a woman’s world shatters when an incriminating email alerts her to her husband’s affair. Chicago suburbanites Josie and Frank Moore have been married for 12 years and have two young girls, three-year-old Isabella and seven-year-old Zoe. After discovering the email on Frank’s phone, Josie finds out that he’s been seeing a married coworker. Josie confronts Frank, and he insists it was only a few times and never went beyond kissing. Josie isn’t so sure, and the pace subsequently alternates between frantic and introspective as she dissects her marriage, past and present, while obsessively working out the timeline of the affair. Frank vows to make things right and, after Josie asks him to move out, undertakes painfully earnest attempts at self-improvement, like attending church and volunteering at a soup kitchen. While working through her pain, Josie eventually glimpses the possibility of forgiveness, but the pat conclusion is disappointing. Although Pekkanen excels at capturing the intimate details of family life and the insidiousness of domestic ennui, this study of a marriage in crisis, while diverting, doesn’t distinguish itself in a crowded field.
April 15, 2018
Josie Moore, her husband, Frank, and their two young girls, Zoe and Izzy, lived a comfortable and happy life in the Chicago suburbs. Frank worked in pharmaceutical sales, and Josie stayed at home with the girls and made a little money selling educational toys. Until a quick Starbucks run turned their lives upside down. When Frank runs inside to grab Josie's latte, she finds herself clicking on an email buried in Frank's iPhone?an email from another woman. Pekkanen (The Perfect Neighbors, 2016) lets readers experience the full emotional scope of Josie's devastation, from the tumultuous discovery of infidelity, to the rehashing of small memories given new weight, to the shaky attempts to rebuild and repair. Writing with rawness and realism, Pekkanen doesn't hold back from showing Josie's anger, confusion, and hurt. Fans of Lianne Moriarty, Anne Tyler, and Pekkanen's previous books will appreciate the story's depth as Josie and Frank attempt to figure out exactly where everything went wrong, and what would have to go right to move forward, together.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)
Starred review from April 1, 2018
Josie is happy in her marriage. Her days of caring for their two daughters are routine, with Frank working outside the home, and Josie a SAHM with a side business. Frank is an incredible, hands-on father; all of the other school moms are jealous of Josie's handsome husband. However, underneath the glossy veneer, a distance is growing between the couple. One morning when she borrows his phone to make a call, Josie sees something that changes and challenges everything she thought she knew about Frank. Pekkanen is back (after The Perfect Neighbors) with this emotionally charged domestic drama that takes a close look at a troubled marriage. In a story that moves back and forth in time, Josie remembers pieces of their marriage, particularly Frank's actions, that may have fallen through the cracks. The author deftly explores Josie's take on Frank's betrayal, tracking how she was made the fool in their supposedly rock-solid marriage. In her signature conversational style, Pekkanen uncovers the truth behind the lies as Josie comes to grips with reality vs. the mirage of her marriage. VERDICT A weighty, emotional read with the author's trademark relatable, realistic characters. Pekkanen fans will clamor for this one. For libraries where domestic women's fiction is popular.--Erin Holt, Williamson Cty. P.L., Franklin, TN
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