Grieving and revenge over losses caused by parental
separation
cruelty toward step-parents
custody battles
romance while in stepfamily situations
Joanna Trollope, best-selling author in England and a
descendant of famous English writer Anthony Trollope, has crafted a frank and searing
portrait of family dynamics when adults must raise step-children along with their own
biological children. Stepparents and biological parents
will empathize and sympathize with the plight of the main characters, and identify with
their almost unbearable difficulties. Most revealing is how cruelly stepchildren can treat
stepparents, and how emotional abuse runs both directions in stepfamilies.
Ms. Trollope spares no one in the stepfamilies she depicts, and exposes each character's
inner thoughts about the other members of their families. The character portrayals are
exquisite and poignant, and starkly realistic. Despite the bleak view of the travails and
pitfalls of stepfamilies, there are rewards noted as well that stepparents might take to
heart.
The San Francisco Chronicle Book Review (May 9, 1999) commends the book, and notes:
"…Trollope is a masterful storyteller, and in short order each of these
characters becomes vivid and compelling; we feel ourselves pulling for each one, even
though we know that they can't all have what
they want."
