LABOR DAY (Joyce Maynard) - February 26/10

I'm kind of conflicted on this one. On the one hand, the book really became quite involving in its second half and offered a vivid portrait of six days in the life of a outcast 13-year-old. But on the other hand, the initial setup of the narrative is simply too hard to comfortably swallow - with the cavalier way that the protagonist's mother takes in the escaped convict (and her decision to quickly fall into bed with him) just too out-there to easily accept. Without that little hiccup, Labor Day would probably have fared a whole lot better - as Maynard is a strong writer with an obvious talent for cultivating a very specific time and place. *** out of ****