A Week at the Shore, at first, seems like a breezy summer read. But the cover and the title don’t reveal the true depth of the story.
Mallory hasn’t been home to see her dad in a long time. She escaped to New York and has a great life as a photographer and raising her teenage daughter. When she gets a strange call from her ex-boyfriend (her dad is threatening him with a gun), Mallory thinks her father is sicker than her sister ever let on. Her daughter Joy convinces her they should visit him so Joy can bond with her family. Mallory gives in to her daughter. Their visit starts a cascade surrounding a decades-old mystery of a woman who died while on a boat with her father.
The characters are all very flat. The main character seems almost like she has no personality; she takes from other characters. Mallory absorbs the emotions of those around her second-guessing her own. Her teenage age daughter basically runs her life (and doesn’t act like a teenager at all). The other characters aren’t much better; they are pretty much basic archetypes.
Delinsky uses a hammer to tackle every topic. There is very little finesse which seems odd for the author. Usually, her stories are deep and subtle allowing the readers to absorb the ideas. Mallory suddenly thinks that she has another parent and acts like she has thought that for a long time but there is nothing before in the book to back that theory. There was no subtle lead up to the idea.
Even so, plot-wise, she manages to throw a few curbs balls. But in the end, it wasn’t enough to save the novel. I won’t recommend this one when I make a suggestion to my friends about this author.
Though the subject matter is thoughtful, it’s not written very well, leaving me with a bad taste in my mouth.
Publication Date: May 19
I received an ARC through NetGalley; all opinions are my own.
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Stars in Her Eye 