Two Truths and a Lie

March 30, 2020
Moore (The Arrivals) serves up an uneven tale about a group of privileged mothers and the secrets they keep. Sherri Griffin and her 11-year-old daughter, Katie, move to Newburyport, Mass., where the drinks always flow and the gossip runs rampant. Sherri and Katie are running—but from what? Meanwhile, rising high school senior Alexa can’t wait to leave Newburyport for Los Angeles—but after reading the explosive secrets in Katie’s diary during a babysitting gig, she has drama to spare. Alexa’s mother, Rebecca, is still mourning her late husband when she starts a relationship with Daniel, one of Alexa’s high school teachers, while trying to keep tabs on Alexa and her fifth-grade sister, Morgan, one of Katie’s besties. While the author’s elegant prose shines, the plot meanders, and the frequent shifts in point of view make it difficult to forge a strong connection to any of the characters. A subplot emerges when Alexa finds clues that suggest Sherri and Kate are in the witness protection program, but it never takes off, and the book fades to a whimper. Frequent texts, social media posts, and bursts of first-person-plural narration add to the cacophony. Moore is talented, but this isn’t her best.

April 1, 2020
A single mom and her 11-year-old daughter, who are trying to start over, move to a small New England town, but it's harder to leave their pasts behind than they thought. Sherri Griffin has just moved to Newburyport, Massachusetts, with her daughter, Katie, and has somehow gotten her a spot in one of the more coveted summer surf day camps, much to the surprise of the long-term town moms. The first day of camp marks the beginning of Sherri's and Katie's individual efforts to make new friends and redefine themselves--Sherri among the Mom Squad, aka The Group, which rules the social scene among the rising sixth grade parents in their little town, and Katie among those moms' daughters. Author Moore offers a relatively standard narrative structure of rotating between a number of main characters' points of view to tell the story. In addition to Sherri and her murky past, there is Rebecca Coleman, a second grade teacher on summer break who is struggling with grief over the sudden death of her husband 18 months before, guilt over her desire to make new friends and start dating, and irritation at her old friends; and Alexa Thornhill, Rebecca's 17-year-old daughter, who is planning for her post-high school future on her terms and not those of her mother. Refreshingly, however, Moore also employs a breezy style to share the gossipy feel of the groupthink of the Mom Squad as an additional point of view. This is a book that tiptoes between genres. Is it a mystery? A thriller? A teen coming-of-age exegesis? A beach read that leans into a potential romantic fairy-tale ending? Surprisingly, the story elements that successfully create narrative tension and draw the reader through the volume are discarded at the close. Instead, the reader is given an ending that is as capricious as life itself. A crackling narrative that starts strong and ends abruptly.

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May 15, 2020
Sherri Griffin is new in town. Truth. She's desperate to make a happy life for herself and her daughter in this pretty little coastal community. Truth. She's definitely not on the run from her past. Lie. Rebecca's husband, Peter, died a year and a half ago. Truth. She knows everyone wants her to just move on, but she's just not ready. Truth. She's definitely not getting involved with her daughter's former economics teacher. Lie. Alexa is giving up on her mom's dream of her attending her alma mater and heading for L.A. as soon as the summer is over. Truth. She's going to turn her moderate success as a YouTube personality into the life she really wants. Truth. She definitely did not uncover the secret of Sherri's dangerous past. Lie. This fast-paced, witty beach read has all the elements of a great drama, including a Greek chorus of second-grade moms providing color commentary. Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies (2014) and Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere (2017).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)