Untethered

April 1, 2016
Char Hawthorn is faced with a terrible dilemma when her husband dies, leaving his ex-wife to decide whether or not Char will continue raising her teenage stepdaughter on her own. Career-driven Lindy says she wants Allie but won't make the time for her, while Char thinks Allie would be better off finishing out the school year at home but fears backlash from Lindy if she says so. Timmer's (Five Days Left, 2014) realistic dialogue and dark thoughts underscore the complicated emotions that govern blended families: "If you were Char, you worried you were trying too hard, making your stepdaughter (and her mother) suspect you were gunning for someone else's job." Char's strategy to play it safe soon backfires, and the unspoken custody battle waged between the two mothers becomes a tragedy of manners that causes Allie to fill the silence by acting out. For Char to be untethered from her husband and child would be life-changing on its own, but her story sharply segues into that of the 10-year-old girl that Allie tutors, Morgan Crew, who was plucked from a series of foster homes and raised by a couple whose son has special needs. When Morgan disappears, Allie takes the law into her own hands with devastating consequences. How Char, Lindy, and Morgan's parents handle the problem from there will leave readers with much to discuss about parental responsibility. While Char is likable, she has serious flaws that turn what at first seems to be a win-win situation into a morally ambiguous one--and the tension supplies plenty of fuel for late-night reading. Dramatic, yes, but also a thoughtfully written and ultimately uplifting celebration of families that are not bound by blood or by law but by love.

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June 1, 2016
When her husband of six years dies in a sudden accident, Char Hawthorn becomes, as the title suggests, untethered. Should she stay in Bradley's small Michigan hometown where they raised his now 15-year-old daughter, Allie, especially now that Allie's narcissist mother is making noise about Allie finishing her last two years of school with her in Los Angeles? Char has the opportunity to resume her career as a journalism professor in D.C., but she's reluctant, as long as there's a chance she and Allie can stay together. Then Allie makes new friends, who are clearly bad news, and Char is forced to redefine her roledoes she have the right to exert any authority when she is not even technically Allie's stepmother anymore? No matter how much Allie rebels, though, she never skips her Monday afternoon tutoring sessions with Morgan, the troubled little girl who is too good at hiding secrets. A sure bet for readers of ripped-from-the-headlines, deeply emotional domestic fiction like that of Jodi Picoult or Chris Bohjalian.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

June 1, 2016

Char Hawthorn's happy marriage and successfully blended family are shattered when her husband is killed in a car accident. Reeling from the loss, Char puts her own feelings aside to tend to the needs of her 15-year-old stepdaughter, Allie, who is dealing with her grief by acting out. The situation worsens when Allie's biological mother arrives on the scene. A career-driven narcissist, Lindy is determined to move her daughter across the country to California regardless of what is best for her. Char feels powerless, as all rights regarding Allie belong to Lindy in the eyes of the law. Meanwhile, Allie's struggles are somewhat eased by her relationship with Morgan, the ten-year-old girl she tutors. When Morgan, a troubled child who was adopted by foster parents, suddenly disappears, Allie sets out after her. As she did in Five Days Left, Timmer attacks a controversial subject from all sides, raising questions for readers. VERDICT Book clubs will devour this gripping page-turner, which is a poignant examination of loss, love, and the bonds that constitute a family. [See Prepub Alert, 12/7/15.]--Jeanne Bogino, New Lebanon Lib., NY

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2016

After her husband is killed in a car accident, Char Hawthorn must deal with threats from stepdaughter Allie's feckless biological mother and Allie's decision to find the troubled ten-year-old girl she was tutoring, who has been released to a new home by her adoptive parents. Following Five Days Left, which won some great reviews; lots of library buzz planned.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.