The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 10 August 1998
by Anne Lamott
Everybody in this book is flawed. Human. Rosie is a 13-year-old girl who plays tennis like a pro, and who is in the awkward early stages of becoming a woman. Her best friend and doubles tennis partner on the California youth tennis circuit, Simone, is developing precociously into a very sexual young girl. Rosie's family, first introduced in an earlier novel, is also flawed, "like a family you'd get at a garage sale". Rosie's mother is still recovering from the sudden death of her first husband, while her second is struggling to communicate with her. There are friends of the family, and dark lurking characters as well. The book though, is full of love and, most especially, forgiveness. Rosie bumps her way through the summer of tennis matches and relationships, her mother has a depressive episode, and her best friend discovers sex. It is a troubling time told with great humor and compassion by Lamott, who appears to have a very gentle and forgiving attitude toward the flaws in human behavior. Perhaps this reader grew a little tired of the detailed descriptions of tennis matches, but the book also has strength in its details. There are sensuous passages rich with the language. A pleasure to read aloud.
[Other books that take place in California]
Also by Lamott: [Bird By Bird] [All New People]