Escape Velocity

September 15, 2011

Forced to move in with her mother, a sophisticated, successful author who abandoned her at birth, 15-year-old Lou is determined to figure out what led this near stranger to reject her so completely.

After her mother, Zoe, left her behind, Lou was raised by her father, a lackadaisical pain-medication addict who nonetheless loves her. Then he suffers a heart attack and stroke, and Lou is sent to join Zoe in Victoria, British Columbia. Zoe isn't warmly welcoming, frequently dismissing Lou's efforts to please her, pointedly stating, "I can't rearrange my whole life because you're here." Lou observes that her mother's new novel, Escape Velocity, focused on a mother-daughter relationship that's as dysfunctional as their own and seems to negatively portray her as "parasitic." This drives her to find out more about Zoe's mysterious past. She finally tracks down Heather, her grandmother, a street woman with secrets of her own but whose history offers insight into not only Zoe's background, but also her conflicted character. Lou is a fully rounded, attractive character. Zoe's emotional insensitivity toward her, while painful, becomes understandable as her believable back story emerges. Other characters are also nicely, authentically fleshed out, adding depth and a strong sense of reality.

A quiet, moving exploration of what it means to be a mother—or a daughter—even when the relationship is unconventional. (Fiction. 12 & up)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

January 1, 2012

Gr 7-10-While her dad recovers from a heart attack and bypass surgery, 15-year-old Lou Summers heads to British Columbia to stay with her famous author mother, Zoe Summers, who abandoned her daughter for the first 12 years of her life. While neither one of them is comfortable with being thrown together, Lou hopes that maybe this time around things will be different. She has questions for her mother, questions about Zoe's past and Lou's life. Lou's first night in Victoria happens to be at a book reading for her mother's latest novel, and a homeless woman in the audience makes Zoe nervous, a fact that piques Lou's curiosity. Who is she? Lou believes the answer will unlock clues to her mother's past and her attitude toward her daughter. Their dynamic is the focus of this story; the two are always at odds but also have more in common than they realize. Lou is a reliable narrator and a likable character. The secondary characters are developed but remain firmly in the background. The story ends on a hopeful note. Enjoyable for fans of realistic fiction focused on family dynamics and relationships.-Natalie Struecker, Rock Island Public Library, IL

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2011
Grades 7-10 Fifteen-year-old Lou is desperate to escape her Drumheller, Alberta, home and life with her disabled, drug-addicted father. But when he suffers a heart attack and dies, Lou is angry that she is forced to live indefinitely with her mother in Victoria. Her mother, a writer, left when Lou was only a few days old and didn't contact her until 12 years later. Why? Are the answers hidden in her mother's novels, in which she describes babies as being parasitic creatures and condemns children for their endless neediness? Is this the way Lou's mother feels about her? Lou's pain and alienation is palpable, and her desire to both protect and escape her father is understandable. This is a multilayered, emotionally drainingyet hopefulnovel that will allow many teens to recognize their own ambivalence toward their parents, as well as the need to escape velocitythe speed an object requires to break free from a gravitational pullin their lives.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)