[Book Review] In Leah’s Wake: a Beautiful, Ambitious Novel by Terri Guiliano Long

June 10, 2011 at 11:30 am (Book Review, Relationships, Writing/Language) (alcohol abuse, blog book tour, book giveaway, book review, In Leah's Wake, novel, Terri Giuliano Long)

In Leah’s Wake, the ambitious novel by Terri Guiliano Long, is the heartbreaking and engaging story of a family’s struggles told by all members of the family. Through its depiction of flawed but ultimately likeable characters, Long has created a realistic novel that will stay with its readers because of its searing honesty, pitch perfect character development, and page-turning tension.

In Leah’s Wake is the story of a family in turmoil over the gradual loss of a daughter, Leah, to drug use and rebellion. Of course, every parent can tell you that teenagers distance themselves from their parents, and it’s natural and normal for teens to establish their independence, but coupled with the brain’s immaturity (especially the parts that control empathy) inherent in teens (the human brain doesn’t reach full maturity until the late 20s), drugs and outside influences can alter a teen who had previously always been level-headed and kind. And this is the case with Leah: she starts to see her parents as the enemy, begins to question whether or not her soccer career was ever her idea or passion, and becomes obsessed with Todd, her new boyfriend.

Perhaps the story really belongs to Justine, Leah’s younger sister, who is left in Leah’s wake. She is 12, terrified for her sister, and worried for her parents’ marriage. The novel shows how younger siblings are often the quiet victims, hurt by side-effects of a teen’s rejection of her parents, as ultimately the entire family is rejected as well. Leah struggles with this conflict: she wants desperately to get away from her parents but hates leaving Justine behind. There are moments in the novel when Leah’s love for Justine seems to be enough but Leah heartbreakingly continues on with her destructive path.

Long offers a realistic depiction of family life and marriage, with an honesty reminicient of Jonathan Tropper, and the difficult and often confusing experience of parenthood in the spirit of Anne Lamott. In fact, Lamott’s novel Imperfect Birds, released at almost the same time, is an excellent companion piece to In Leah’s Wake because of the similarities in the daughters’ plights, but the differences in the ways the families react to the daughter’s drug use. Other differences to contrast with Lamott’s book show how the dynamic might be different for the only child the ways that not having a boyfriend can also prove as difficult for the teen girl to handle as actually having one.

Long’s story is told from multiple points of view, which shows a dedication to the story and an astounding amount of research and empathy. Long shows the striking difference between the way a family sees itself and how outsiders see the family. Long glides effortlessly between narrators, offering a richness found in very few novels. Beyond the family, Leah’s drug use and rebellion affect other people in the town, classmates, her soccer coach, and even random people with whom Leah’s parents come into contact. If there is one flaw with this book, it’s that Long doesn’t hold back enough and offers the insights of too many tertiary characters.

In Leah’s Wake is an excellent novel for teenagers and parents alike, to read and discuss issues perhaps to prevent such problems in their family. Even the best parents and the best kids can expect to face some of Leah’s dilemmas. This novel can work to help people feel less alone in their adversity. And for childless people, perhaps this book can illustrate what it’s like to have a teenager, which is the most exhausting, difficult (and often thankless) experience in many people’s lives.

My score: A-

In Leah’s Wake is available on Amazon. com. The Kindle edition is only 99 cents (at the time of this posting).

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THIS BLOG TOUR:

This is the final stop on the novel publicity blog tour for In Leah’s Wake. I have not yet read any other reviews of the book (on the tour or elsewhere) to keep my impression unaltered. If you like my writing, please vote for my blog in the traffic-breaker poll for this tour. The blogger with the most votes wins a free promotional twitterview and a special winner’s badge. You can vote for me in the poll by visiting the official In Leah’s Wake blog tour page and scrolling all the way to the bottom. Look for the name of my blog, Geek Magnet.

BOOK GIVEAWAY

The next word for the book give-away is SOON . . .  (including the ellipsis). Learn more about the giveaway and enter to win one of three copies by visiting official In Leah’s Wake blog tour page. The other two copies are being given away courtesy of the GoodReads author program; go here to enter. Check out the Q & A with Terri Giuliano Long  and the Terri Giuliano Long  author page for In Leah’s Wake (which includes questions from the official book club guide, the author, her writing process, and advice.)

See the book trailer for In Leah’s Wake on YouTube.