Daughter's Keeper, Aylet Waldman

Elaine and Olivia are mother and daughter, whose tug-of-war over affection hasn't devastated their lives, but is nonetheless inexorable. The stakes of this relationship become higher when Olivia is charged with drug trafficking and must move back in with her mother while she prepares for trial. The picture is further complicated when Olivia discovers she is pregnant by a young Mexican man whose desperation for work inspired him to try dealing drugs. Elaine's fiance, an emotionally distant exercise enthusiaist, loves to cook but is totally uninterested in participating in the situation. Waldman's characters are so easy to identify with that the book sucks you into its emotional turmoil, leaving you ready to cry even after you walk away from it. For all that, the plot is fairy tale predictable, the ending as satisfying as a plate of homemade macaroni and cheese.
Posted by supersusie at January 27, 2004 11:40 PM