The Whole Golden World

September 23, 2013
Riggle’s latest (after last year’s Keepsake) follows high school senior Morgan Monetti’s affair with her married calculus teacher, T.J. Hill, and how it impacts several lives in the small town of Arbor Valley, Mich. Raised by emotionally absent high school principal Joe and his overbearing wife, Dinah (whose control issues stem from living with the fear of losing her now teenage special-needs twins), 17-year-old Morgan has always been treated as though she were older than she actually is. Feeling stifled by the idea of having to spend her college years near her family and hurt by being recently rejected by both her ex-boyfriend and a crush who turns out to be gay, Morgan begins confiding in her young, popular math teacher, whose insecurities have been exacerbated by his inability to conceive with his wife. Riggle shows how the inner turmoil of her characters eventually creates the situation at the heart of this novel. Dinah remains likable, despite frequently making excuses for her kids and always being ready for a fight. Though the author falters with the character of T.J., who comes off as a flat antagonist, the novel remains an entertaining read.

October 1, 2013
A teacher stands trial for his sexual relationship with a precocious high school senior who resists believing she is the victim since she pursued their affair. On the first day of TJ Hill's trial for sexual misconduct with his 17-year-old student Morgan Monetti, Morgan shocks the courtroom by leaving her parents' sides to sit behind the man she believes she loves. Is she the innocent victim of his abuse of power as her mother, Dinah, vociferously declares? Or is she a Lolita-ish vixen, as TJ's supportive wife, Rain, assumes? From the courtroom opening, Riggle (The Keepsake, 2012, etc.) cuts back to the start of the school year, when Morgan finds herself in TJ's calculus class. Mature for her age, Morgan has always been the dependable one. Dinah has concentrated her aggressive, sometimes-defensive maternal energy on Morgan's troubled younger twin brothers, while Morgan's father has poured his energy into his responsibilities as a vice principal at Morgan's high school. Taken for granted by her parents, bored by most of her peers and recently dumped by her boyfriend, Morgan finds herself confiding in her sympathetic teacher. As seen through Rain's eyes, TJ is going through his own difficulties: insecure about teaching calculus for the first time; ambivalent about Rain's desperate attempts to get pregnant; resentful and envious of his more successful brother. One night, a slightly drunk TJ lets a distraught Morgan hide from her friends in his car. There is the inevitable kiss followed by the inevitable assignations. Meanwhile, Rain, finally pregnant, is touched when TJ tearfully promises to be a better husband. Then, TJ and Morgan are caught together. TJ is arrested. The Monettis face escalating humiliation as Morgan, Rain and TJ hold their ground. At first, the "inspired by real events novel" is refreshingly ambiguous, but then Riggle, who gives everyone but TJ a voice, stacks the moral deck. Riggle writes about female family dynamics with a sure hand but stumbles awkwardly around TJ and the other male characters.

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October 1, 2013

This subject is in the paper far too often: a teacher and a student, romantically involved. Is it the teacher's fault? Or did the student seduce the teacher? Riggle's fifth novel (after Keepsake) delves into this topic with her 17-year-old protagonist, Morgan, siding in a courtroom with T.J. Hill, the popular high school teacher with whom she had an affair, and shocking both her parents and Rain, Hill's wife. But then, Rain and T.J. have been trying to start a family, and perhaps Rain has been pushing too hard to conceive. Still, Dinah, Morgan's mom, is convinced that as an adult, T.J. is culpable in seducing her daughter and should be locked up. VERDICT Told from the viewpoints of these three strong women, this work is an intriguing look at an issue that strikes fear in the hearts of many parents. It is sure to attract fans of Jodi Picoult's "ripped from the headlines" novels. [See Prepub Alert, 6/17/13.]--Robin Nesbitt, Columbus Metropolitan Lib., OH

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 15, 2013
Dinah's world is about to fall aparther independent coffee shop is failing, and her nemesis wants to buy it out from under her; her overly coddled twin sons are having a hard time adjusting to a new school; and, worst of all, her 17-year-old daughter, Morgan, has just been caught half-undressed in her math teacher's car. Rain, the teacher's wife, is watching her life go down the tubes as wellafter years of struggling, she is finally pregnant, but, instead of being overjoyed, she's trying to hide her delicate condition from the scornful public as she accompanies her husband to criminal court. To make matters worse for both families, Morgan is convinced he's not just using her for sex, that this is true love, and she is willing to stand by her manher parents and his wife be damned. Riggle (Keepsake, 2012) masterfully unfolds the families' stories with just the right pace, tone, and drama, uncovering plenty of family secrets and emotional struggles without making it a soap opera. Fans of Jodi Picoult and Barbara Delinsky will devour this story.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)