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wandering_reads 's review for:
The Jetsetters
by Amanda Eyre Ward
This books started out with a great premise - a lonely mother tries to get her three adult children together on a cruise around Europe, attempting to reconnect with them and their disorganized lives. Lee, the oldest, holds a secret from their childhood that she's never shared; she's a down-and-out actress who thinks her beauty is the only thing she has to share with the world. Chad, the middle child, has yet to come out to his family as gay though he's just gotten engaged to his boyfriend; he hides his feelings of inadequacies behind alcohol and food. Regan, the youngest, is in an awful marriage but wants to do all she can to be the artist she never was able to be and be a good mother to her two daughters. With the addition of Regan's husband Matt, the family sets off on the cruise.
Obviously, not everything will be all sunshine and roses. However, the characters fell so flat for me that it was difficult to keep going. The narrative switches back and forth between the three children and their mother Charlotte, remembering things from childhood, discussing the consequences of their choices as adults, and reflecting on what was happening currently. Charlotte was simply all over the place, and the essay she wrote - what? That was the 'winner'? The entire plot there didn't do much for the rest of the story, other than the page or two when she 'loses her mind' and has her revelation. There were several cut-off plot points, and the ending didn't really tie everything together - or give the resolution that seemed logical or even - resolving. The story had a lot going for it, but it just didn't meet the expectations I had for it.
Obviously, not everything will be all sunshine and roses. However, the characters fell so flat for me that it was difficult to keep going. The narrative switches back and forth between the three children and their mother Charlotte, remembering things from childhood, discussing the consequences of their choices as adults, and reflecting on what was happening currently. Charlotte was simply all over the place, and the essay she wrote - what? That was the 'winner'? The entire plot there didn't do much for the rest of the story, other than the page or two when she 'loses her mind' and has her revelation. There were several cut-off plot points, and the ending didn't really tie everything together - or give the resolution that seemed logical or even - resolving. The story had a lot going for it, but it just didn't meet the expectations I had for it.