Review: Grabs You From the First Chapter and Doesn't Let Go.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 21, 2013
If you want to find an author that knows how to write compelling, realistic characters, then look no further than Rita Clay Estrada. Her prose was good, her dialogue was genuine, but the most impressive part of the entire novel, from start to finish, was her ability to write characters honestly, as though she had plucked them from the real world. Their responses to various situations were so real that the novel sounded autobiographical at times. She has clearly spent years carefully observing behaviors, speech patterns, and the emotional intricacies of both men and women to write such a stunning novel that rings true on every page.Family is the main focal point of the novel, protecting one that you have, and dreaming of one that you are close to reaching. Caro is a strong, capable woman who has reached a certain point in her life where she is finished dealing with the nonsense and complications of men, and her treatment of all the men in the novel seem too close to home for her not to have some sort of personal knowledge of the challenges of creating a strong family. I loved her ability to paint a scene without overdoing the exposition, and then filling it with dialogue that doesn't waste any words, nor miss the important ones. I know plenty of ambitious female 30-somethings that have faced similar dilemmas, and even considered similar measures. As the novel progress, my only complaint is that the occasionally melodramatic action didn't match the genuine, methodical progression of real life that the first half of the book did so well. It became slightly sensational, but still captivating and page-turning. I think that if the flow of the narrative had remained constant, it would have been an even stronger book, but I also understand the need for excitement and building suspense. All in all, Rita Clay Estrada has shown herself to be a powerful lens for the human experience, and to have a deep understanding of the complicated process of living a somewhat nontraditional life, wisdom from which all of us can learn something.