Meantime

After a bicycle accident lands her husband in the hospital in septic shock, Claire Goldsmith begins to fear for not only his life, but also his fidelity.Just hours before the accident introduced virulent bacteria into Jeremy's body, he had introduced Claire to Gita, his high school girlfriend. Frumpy and awkward, Gita doesn't strike Claire as much of a threat. That is, until Gita starts showing up in his hospital room every day. Is her marriage, like her parents' marriage, endangered? Noel (Halfway House, 2007) deftly choreographs the world Claire has built to insulate herself from the slings and arrows of the outside world. She hides herself--architecturally, by secluding herself in one room of the house to work; emotionally, by joking instead of opening her heart; and sartorially, by coordinating careful outfits--mixing vintage, contemporary, and intimates like a social armor. As Noel pulls out the threads of Claire's security blanket, she exposes her past. Saddled with the baggage of an unconventional childhood, Claire still struggles to be accepted even though she's become a successful furniture restorer. Underneath her self-assured facade lies the little girl tormented because of her parents' strange lifestyle. When Claire was barely 9 years old, her father fell in love with another woman. Instead of divorcing their respective spouses, they persuaded them--for the sake of the children--to merge the two families under one roof. The experience left Claire's heart guarded, but it also gave her a sister, Nicole, with whom, despite their deeply weird beginnings, she shaped a semblance of home. But can that bond support them as Nicole seeks to become a single mother and Claire worries that Gita may be taking her place? An unflinching autopsy of the heart, laying bare the raw emotions that push us to reconfigure, again and again, our senses of family. COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2016

Claire Hood and her stepsister Nicole had an unconventional childhood starting after their families decided to move in together when Claire's father fell in love with Nicole's mother. Now in her 30s, a self-employed furniture restorer, Claire and husband Jeremy have a pleasant, child-free life. However, when Jeremy falls off his bicycle after meeting up with his high school sweetheart Gita, things literally take a bad turn. Resulting health problems alter his once-comfortable existence, and he begins relying not on Claire, but on Gita. What starts out as friendship quickly grows to include secret text messages and more. Claire, meanwhile, treads slowly and suspiciously, trying to make sense of their relationship while simultaneously rebuilding her friendship with Nicole. Noel beautifully captures the difficulties and insecurities that make up marriage, sisterhood, and how our upbringing bleeds into our adulthood. Doubt and rediscovery abound in this heartfelt and heartbreaking story, showing how family can both bring us together and tear us apart. VERDICT Noel's second book (after Halfway House) is an emotionally charged novel, perfect for fans of Emily Liebert and Emily Giffin.--Erin Holt, Williamson Cty. P.L., Franklin, TN

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2016
Noel's second perceptive, character-driven novel, following Halfway House (2006), delves into multiple relationships and how they ebb and flow over the years. The bond between stepsisters Claire and Nicole grew out of the bizarre assemblage of two families in one house, created when Claire's father and Nicole's mother fell in love. The adults decided it would be best for the girls and Nicole's brother if everyone stayed together. Over the years the sisters have remained close, in a sporadic way, which intensifies when Nicole decides to become pregnant and raise her baby as a single mom. Claire has been married to Jeremy for several years; they have no children, and Claire doesn't relish the idea of motherhood. Then Gita, Jeremy's high-school girlfriend, suddenly appears, having moved to San Francisco to care for aging parents, and begins to inject herself into their increasingly fragile marriage, especially after Jeremy is hospitalized for weeks with a severe infection. Noel writes with empathy and precision about the minutiae of the lives of her characters, drawing her readers immediately into their interwoven stories.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)