Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Nancy Thayer - Custody: A Novel

52. Custody: A Novel by Nancy Thayer (2001)
Length: 309 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 5 May 2014
Finished: 7 May 2014
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 5 May 2014
Why do I have it? I like contemporary fiction and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

When Kelly MacLeod becomes a Massachusetts Family Court judge, she is determined to do what is right. Young, brilliant, and engaged to the perfect guy, she feels truly ready to begin her new appointment. With all her dreams coming true, Kelly never envisions what might go wrong...

Then a chance meeting with a man in a cemetery awakens an unexpected passion in Kelly. Agreeing not to reveal their names to each other, Kelly and the stranger begin an illicit affair.

Anne Madison, a respected state reformer with political aspirations, wants custody of her twelve-year-old adopted daughter, Tessa. So does Anne's soon-to-be ex-husband Randall Madison - a prominent physician. Tessa is caught in the middle of her parents emotional tug-of-war.

On the brink of adolescence, Tessa is just beginning to discover her own sexuality. She also wonders who her birth mother is. Troubled by this and pulled in too many directions, she tries to please those she loves at a cost that just might be too high.

Kelly MacLeod gets drawn into this family's legal and personal tribulations. How does one effectively balance public service with private desires? What does it mean - legally and emotionally - to be a family? How does someone move past anger and sorrow toward compassion and wisdom? How do adults learn to temper their own wills with the best needs of the child? What is right when one's own deepest emotions clash with the law?

Kelly's involvement with this particular case leads her to question issues within her own personal life. In order to answer these myriad questions, Kelly must grapple with her career as a judge and assess her mysterious new lover, her own past, and the complications of many kinds of love.

In my opinion, this book was very well-written and the plot was certainly engrossing. However, while I enjoyed reading it, I found the story to be quite a stretch for the imagination. Overall, I give this book an A!

A! - (90-95%)
  .  
Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

1 comment:

  1. this sounds fabulous, May. I do hope it'll be your Books You Loved entry! Cheers from Carole's chatter

    ReplyDelete

Hello and welcome to my blog. I'm a newbie as far as book blogging goes, having been blogging at my daughter's blog for only about two and a half years. Now it's time for me to get my feet wet on my own. Please be gentle with this blogger. Love to hear from you all. Have a great day! :)