Pretending to Dance: A Novel
By: Diane Chamberlain
Rating: 5 of 5
This is the second book I have read by Diane Chamberlain, the first being “The Silent Sister”. I have been thoroughly engrossed by Ms. Chamberlain’s writing – she makes me think about things in a new a different way. Her stories are not feel-good books but instead, they are books that make you feel emotions.
In “Pretending to Dance”, we are introduced to Molly Arnette, a lawyer in San Diego who is on the verge of adopting a child as she and her husband are unable to have one of their own. As the story progresses, we discover that Molly has not told her husband about her past, including the fact that she was part of an unusual open adoption. It appears that she has not told him much and that some of what she has told him are lies.
The story starts alternating between the present and the fateful summer that shaped her life. She was 14 and just coming into puberty with all of its angst and enticements. Added to that, her father has a severely progresses form of MS which is slowly robbing him of all of his physical abilities. While Molly can see this, it doesn’t sink in in the way it would if she were older. We see how Molly interacts with her father and other characters and how this starts her on a crash course with reality by the end of the worst summer of her life.
In the present, we meet Sienna, a young pregnant teenager who may or may not want her daughter adopted. She is looking at Molly and her husband and Molly is trying to get past her own past so she can discover whether or not she is really fit to adopt and become a mother.
The story is quite beautiful and presents many issues within its boundaries. From illness to racial tensions to sexual awakenings, the story explores and comes up with answers. They aren’t always pretty but they do make sense with the story.
I really enjoyed reading this book and would certainly recommend it for appropriate age groups. I will be looking for more books by Ms. Chamberlain in the future.
I received a complimentary copy of this book via the publisher.
This is the second book I have read by Diane Chamberlain, the first being “The Silent Sister”. I have been thoroughly engrossed by Ms. Chamberlain’s writing – she makes me think about things in a new a different way. Her stories are not feel-good books but instead, they are books that make you feel emotions.