The accident, which is not elaborated on until the final pages, seems anticlimactic after being alluded to throughout the novel. Ellie’s bad habits follow her to Florida and result in irrevocable loss.
The novel alternates between Ellie in 2011 and Maya in 2013, a before-and-after exploration of what tragedy and mistakes can do to families and friendships. Stephen’s patience is tried by Ben’s announcement that he's giving up his soccer scholarship and taking a break from college.
Maya, an unmothered mother who coped with the pressures of parenting by reading, locking herself in her office, and running the streets of Brooklyn and Manhattan for what seems like “half the day,” no longer sleeps with her husband. After years of Ellie using drugs, making mistakes, and sleeping with the wrong boys, Maya ships her away to Florida to care for an old friend’s child. As their children, Ellie and Ben, grow closer to adulthood, the family seems to hang by a thread. Strong’s debut novel traces a mother-daughter bond that must be rebuilt after a life-changing tragedy.Ĭollege professors Stephen and Maya Taylor have made a lovely life for themselves, commuting from tree-lined Brooklyn to teach philosophy and English at Columbia University.
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