The Ocean Inside

February 23, 2009
McMahan's debut novel is a vividly drawn but uneven love letter to coastal South Carolina. Emmett and Lauren Sullivan's lifestyle has never matched their upper-crust neighbors', but they've been comfortable raising their daughters in their “money pit” of an ancestral home. Then their nine-year-old daughter, Ainslie, is stricken with a rare form of cancer, and the family is plunged into chaos. Suddenly Emmett is battling a recalcitrant insurance company; the stress of caring for a sick child full-time begins to take its toll on Lauren; and 18-year-old Sloan's college plans are in jeopardy. As the parents' financial and emotional problems consume the family, Sloan finds escape with a new boyfriend whose preppy good looks and moneyed charm mask a dangerous streak. McMahan's descriptions of the Lowcountry and its unique climate and customs jump off the page, but her characters and plot have trouble matching the wealth of scenery. There's emotional sincerity and depth, and ample talent for description and pacing, but the eventual payoff and resolution, though unconventional, falls slightly flat.

February 15, 2009
McMahans second novel is an easily accessible exploration of what can stretch the average upper-middle-class American family to just shy of its breaking point, and what they might do once they get there. Told from the perspective of each of the four members of the family, with an occasional chapter by a friend, this novel tells the story of the Sullivans experience when the youngest family member is diagnosed with cancer. It is the story not just of the medical fight but also of an infuriating battle with the insurance industry. The heavy-handed it could happen to anyone message is impossible to miss, but the characters are well drawn. Emmett, the father, comes from just enough family money to feel financially untouchable. His wife is an overinvolved stay-at-home mother. Sloan, the teenage older sister, falls in with a bad crowd while her distracted parents barely notice her. Finally, nine-year-old cancer victim Ainslie is wise before her time, allowing all to unfold around her. This book does not cover any new ground, but the story is gripping and the characters all too real.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)