The greatest thing a writer can do is to make you care deeply for fictional characters appearing on the page. Author John Kenney achieves that from page one. By the end of the book, I felt like I knew Ted, Claire, and Fran. I could feel their emotions and pain.
Ted, a TV news anchor, has a bad day. His marriage was falling apart. He has no relationship with his daughter. A young immigrant faces the brunt of his anger, and she did nothing to deserve it. Unfortunately for Ted, his verbal abuse is caught on camera.
How we use social media to communicate forms the backdrop for this novel. When our faults are captured for eternity and displayed for the world to consume and comment—anonymously, then there is no room for heroes in the real world. Because who among us is perfect every moment in our lives?
That is why we seek heroes in our books and movies. Legends shaped by our imagination and untouched by reality become our escape.
This is a very human story about marriage and parenthood and how sometimes we lose sight of what is precious.
Anna Bushi 