Book Review: Deep Down True
Juliette Fay, author of 'Shelter me', has done it again with her second novel, 'Deep Down True.' The story centers around Dana Stellgarten who was left by her husband for a younger woman, her 6th grade daughter is possibly struggling with an eating disorder and the turmoil of junior high school and her second grade son is acting out, missing his father. On top of that, she takes in her sister's teenage daughter who is going through her own problems.
Dana has always been nice to a fault and everyone knows it, but now she is learning to be more assertive because she is at the end of her rope. Her ex-husband's business is not going well so Dana is forced to get a job in order pay the bills. She gets an offer from her very compassionate dentist as a part time receptionist and has to deal with balancing work and motherhood, something a lot of us can relate to. Dana does everything she can to be a good mother and hold her family together, while trying to deal with junior high type issues of her own. Is she dating the right guy? Accepted by the "in" crowd? And does it all really matter in the grand scheme of things? The feelings of insecurity, confusion and self doubt that are so prevalent in junior high never fully go away in adulthood, do they?
The mother-daughter relationship in this book is so real and intensely human. There are times the daughter and the niece are worried about Dana and try to protect her, and that of course, makes Dana feel guilty. Isn't she supposed to be the one to take care of and protect everyone else? Struggling with single motherhood, Dana somehow manages to do it all with a smile.
Fay does an amazing job of putting the reader in the center of the Stellgarten family, and once you are there, you do not want to leave. This page turner is funny and heart warming and will have you cheering for Dana from beginning to end. Deep Down True
Posted in: Book Club, Danielle's Deals, Role Mommy Recommends on 03/14/2011
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