Synopsis: To Ella Beene, happiness means living in the northern California river town of Elbow with her husband, Joe, and his two young children. Yet one summer day Joe breaks his own rule-never turn your back on the ocean-and a sleeper wave strikes him down, drowning not only the man but his many secrets.
For three years, Ella has been the only mother the kids have known and has believed that their biological mother, Paige, abandoned them. But when Paige shows up at the funeral, intent on reclaiming the children, Ella soon realizes there may be more to Paige and Joe's story. "Ella's the best thing that's happened to this family," say her close-knit Italian-American in-laws, for generations the proprietors of a local market. But their devotion quickly falters when the custody fight between mother and stepmother urgently and powerfully collides with Ella's quest for truth.
The Underside of Joy is not a fairy-tale version of stepmotherhood pitting good Ella against evil Paige, but an exploration of the complex relationship of two mothers. Their conflict uncovers a map of scars-both physical and emotional-to the families' deeply buried tragedies, including Italian internment camps during World War II and postpartum psychosis.
About the Author: Seré Prince Halverson lives with her husband and four children in Sebastopol, California. For twenty years she worked as a freelance copywriter while writing fiction. You can learn more about Seré at her website,sereprincehalverson.com, and at her blog,whomovedmybuddha.blogspot.com.
Review: Having lived in the area the book takes place in, I was thrilled to review it, to return to my memories of the area. Halverson does and excellent job of bringing the lushness of the area, and its inhabitants to life in the book. I liked how she pulled in info on the Italian interment camps, to educate unsuspecting readers about history that has been swept under the rug, so to speak.
I wish I could say I adored this book. It is a really well done first novel, don't get me wrong. Halverson does an excellent job in getting you to care for her characters. In fact she did TOO well of a job, as I had a hard time 'switching sides' and seeing Paige's side of the story. It is a story of secrets and lies, and I had too hard of a time wanting to stay with the story. I did til the end, and it was an honest ending, just not to my liking. Others who have been stepmoms, or will be, might find it more engaging, as it is well written.
Interested in winning this copy?
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I wish I could say I adored this book. It is a really well done first novel, don't get me wrong. Halverson does an excellent job in getting you to care for her characters. In fact she did TOO well of a job, as I had a hard time 'switching sides' and seeing Paige's side of the story. It is a story of secrets and lies, and I had too hard of a time wanting to stay with the story. I did til the end, and it was an honest ending, just not to my liking. Others who have been stepmoms, or will be, might find it more engaging, as it is well written.
Interested in winning this copy?
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book for review purposes, free of charge, from KMSPR ! No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it.
Leslie Loves Veggies has a Sogno Coffee Prize Package Rafflecopter Giveaway
ReplyDeletelkish77123 at gmail dot com
Mommy's Kitchen has a post call "Sneaky Spaghetti Sauce".
ReplyDeleteDon't you just love that?
A Nut in a Nutshell posted: Blissdom 2012 Was Even Better Than Last Year!
ReplyDeleteayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net
Piece of Me has a post Just Ducky Originals.
ReplyDeletepbclark(at)netins(dot)net