I haven't read Gayle Forman's YA books, but of course I've heard good things about them, so I was eager to read her first book of adult fiction. (I feel weird and grown up at the same time calling it that.) Anyway, while her writing was undeniably compelling, I found the subject slightly too close to home, having myself been a 40-something working mom with toddlers at one time. Happily, I have never had to deal with a health crisis like Maribeth's, but abandoning my children is an idea I could relate to only in theory. My own experience was more of a peculiar longing upon passing hotels — wanting to spend a long, uninterrupted night, and leave late in the morning with the bed unmade and the dirty dishes from a delicious breakfast by the door — but maybe that's just me. A lot has been said of the premise of the book, so clearly Forman has hit a nerve and sparked a conversation.
The logistics of Maribeth Klein's departure from her family and her job did not seem all that realistic to me, and the life she led in their absence strained belief, but thankfully Forman's crisp writing kept me reading. I find it hard to lose myself in a story where I do not like the main character, and honestly, I did not really like Maribeth. I can't help but think that despite what she considered compelling reasons to leave (prior to her health issues), most of these were "first world problems". Meanwhile, her husband Jason has to be the most unrealistic character of all, barely fazed by her behavior and eager to accept a good part of the blame for her abandonment. If only.
There were many things I liked about the book; many minor characters were depicted with fine detail and clarity. While I liked Maribeth's ultimate search for her adoptive mother, I felt that it should have been more of the point of her leaving, rather than the backhand way she happened upon that search. As a reader, you knew where this was going, there were just some parts along the way you might have wanted to skip.
3
