Cartwheel is a 2013 Random House publication, written by Jennifer duBois.
Andrew and Maureen lost their first child, Janie to anemia. Now divorced, the couple face another horror involving one of their children. Lily had traveled to Buenos Aires as a college exchange student. After only a month and a half, she is sitting in a jail accused of murdering her roommate, Katy.
As Andrew travels to Buenos Aires with his youngest daughter, Anna, he faces his feelings about Anna, his marriage, his current situation, and his failings as a husband and father.
Asking himself how he would feel if Lily was indeed responsible for her roommate's death he thinks:
"Probably, he would still love her. This was the elasticity and permanence of parental love; everything vile about your children was to some degree something vile about yourself, and disowning your child for their failings cold only compound your own."
Anna, also struggles with her feelings about her sister. She feels she was conceived for Lily's sake alone. She sees her sister in a way that her parents can't or won't.
She is also a bit bitter about her childhood and living in the shadow of Janie.
Lily's oddball boyfriend, Sabastien, is a wealthy young man that lives alone in a crumbling mansion. This home is located right across from the house where Lily and Katy are staying.
A romance starts between the two, but is mired in doubt, jealousy, misunderstandings and a little boredom on Lily's part.
The lawyer for the prosecution is also examined. His personal life is up in the air as he deals with the whims of his wife who can't decide if she wants to be married or not.
He has a more open mind about Lily than he wants to admit, but he believes her guilty or at least convinces himself he does, so he can do his job.
The author makes no bones about the book being inspired by the real life Amanda Knox case. But, this a fictional account of that case, and doesn't dwell on the guilt or innocence of Lily so much as it is a study of a family in crisis.
Lily's character is hard to read. Her parents use the phrase, "high spirited" when describing Lily's personality. Her parents had the wind knocked out of them with the loss of their first child and never got past it. Perhaps we can see both sides to this situation. The children couldn't possibly understand the extreme emotions their parents experienced by losing a child. By far this is the worst thing a person could experience. The mistakes they made are forgivable, I think. They were not perfect by any means, but who is? But, both girls held resentments toward their parents and toward Janie.
Now the family is reunited in a foreign country, watching their daughter become only a shell of the person she once was. They have no idea what to say or how to feel. Anna once more feels a sort of resentment toward her sibling. While she does what needs doing, she is maybe the only one that has a different, more realistic perspective of the situation, but her own issues could be clouding her judgment.
Although each member of the family loves Lily, each is tormented by doubt, by her bland acceptance of the situation, by this strange boy she was dating, who is not charged with anything, by their past failures, and by an uncertain future.
These characters were portrayed beautifully. I know that taking a case we are familiar with and fictionalizing it should make drawing the characters a bit easier, but I think it would really be more of a challenge.
The inner thoughts of Andrew and Eduardo, and the smart ass Sabastien , who is constantly trying to impress with his evasiveness and attempts at wry humor, the little miss goodie two shoes, Katy, the odd couple that houses the girls, the weird people Lily works with, and the rather circumstantial evidence that connects Lily to the murder all blends perfectly to create a complex drama.
The story is very atmospheric in the back drop of this city and the dark gloomy mansion across the street, and the strange couple the girls stay with gives one a weird feeling. I was drawn into this lurid tale from the very first. I could not stop reading it!
This is mystery, thriller, drama, and literature all rolled into one. I highly recommend this novel! I would like to thank the publisher and Netgally for the opportunity to read and review this novel. A++
Cartwheel is a 2013 Random House publication, written by Jennifer duBois.
Andrew and Maureen lost their first child, Janie to anemia. Now divorced, the couple face another horror involving one of their children. Lily had traveled to Buenos Aires as a college exchange student. After only a month and a half, she is sitting in a jail accused of murdering her roommate, Katy.
As Andrew travels to Buenos Aires with his youngest daughter, Anna, he faces his feelings about Anna, his marriage, his current situation, and his failings as a husband and father.
Asking himself how he would feel if Lily was indeed responsible for her roommate's death he thinks:
"Probably, he would still love her. This was the elasticity and permanence of parental love; everything vile about your children was to some degree something vile about yourself, and disowning your child for their failings cold only compound your own."
Anna, also struggles with her feelings about her sister. She feels she was conceived for Lily's sake alone. She sees her sister in a way that her parents can't or won't.
She is also a bit bitter about her childhood and living in the shadow of Janie.
Lily's oddball boyfriend, Sabastien, is a wealthy young man that lives alone in a crumbling mansion. This home is located right across from the house where Lily and Katy are staying.
A romance starts between the two, but is mired in doubt, jealousy, misunderstandings and a little boredom on Lily's part.
The lawyer for the prosecution is also examined. His personal life is up in the air as he deals with the whims of his wife who can't decide if she wants to be married or not.
He has a more open mind about Lily than he wants to admit, but he believes her guilty or at least convinces himself he does, so he can do his job.
The author makes no bones about the book being inspired by the real life Amanda Knox case. But, this a fictional account of that case, and doesn't dwell on the guilt or innocence of Lily so much as it is a study of a family in crisis.
Lily's character is hard to read. Her parents use the phrase, "high spirited" when describing Lily's personality. Her parents had the wind knocked out of them with the loss of their first child and never got past it. Perhaps we can see both sides to this situation. The children couldn't possibly understand the extreme emotions their parents experienced by losing a child. By far this is the worst thing a person could experience. The mistakes they made are forgivable, I think. They were not perfect by any means, but who is? But, both girls held resentments toward their parents and toward Janie.
Now the family is reunited in a foreign country, watching their daughter become only a shell of the person she once was. They have no idea what to say or how to feel. Anna once more feels a sort of resentment toward her sibling. While she does what needs doing, she is maybe the only one that has a different, more realistic perspective of the situation, but her own issues could be clouding her judgment.
Although each member of the family loves Lily, each is tormented by doubt, by her bland acceptance of the situation, by this strange boy she was dating, who is not charged with anything, by their past failures, and by an uncertain future.
These characters were portrayed beautifully. I know that taking a case we are familiar with and fictionalizing it should make drawing the characters a bit easier, but I think it would really be more of a challenge.
The inner thoughts of Andrew and Eduardo, and the smart ass Sabastien , who is constantly trying to impress with his evasiveness and attempts at wry humor, the little miss goodie two shoes, Katy, the odd couple that houses the girls, the weird people Lily works with, and the rather circumstantial evidence that connects Lily to the murder all blends perfectly to create a complex drama.
The story is very atmospheric in the back drop of this city and the dark gloomy mansion across the street, and the strange couple the girls stay with gives one a weird feeling. I was drawn into this lurid tale from the very first. I could not stop reading it!
This is mystery, thriller, drama, and literature all rolled into one. I highly recommend this novel! I would like to thank the publisher and Netgally for the opportunity to read and review this novel. A++
