Family Planning, book review

Which secrets of the past should we leave alone, and which must we face head-on?

(If this sounds familiar, it's because Susan Meissner asked the same question in White Picket Fences, which I reviewed last week. Just a coincidence, but interesting to see two very different novels with similar themes side-by-side...)

This question haunts the heroine of Elizabeth Letts’s 2006 novel, Family Planning, in which Charlotte Hopper, the nurse practitioner of a rural non-profit women’s health center, knows the importance of keeping secrets. Her clients, as well as her coworkers, depend on it. But when Charlotte’s charismatic college friend, moves in next door, she brings with her the whiff of an old secret so disturbing, Charlotte’s husband leaves rather than face it. On the heels of his abandonment, Charlotte makes a wrenching discovery at the health center, which not only puts her in the media spotlight, but brings her under suspicion of a terrible crime.

Family Planning was published by New American Library (NAL), a publishing house that emblazons a slogan across its covers: “Fiction for the way we live.” Appropriate. With stories geared for women, with plots and characters to engage the female imagination, NAL novels rarely fail to connect with my feminine soul. Many recent faves are, in fact, NAL books, including those by Karen White (Memory of Water), Lisa Wingate (A Month of Summer), Jessica Barksdale Inclan (One Small Thing). Marketed for mainstream audiences, not Christian ones, they often contain language I would not use, and characters with worldviews I do not embrace. Nonetheless, I savor the “realness” of these stories, which usually carry a concluding message of redemption and hope that I find myself pondering long after I finish the last page.

Such was certainly the case here. Letts proves herself a gifted storyteller – a worthy member of the NAL stable – with a knack for memorable characters and intriguing plot twists. I did stumble across a handful of odd typos and other inconsistencies that a proofing editor should have caught, but these were minor distractions. From the first gripping pages to the hope-filled conclusion, I was completely hooked.

I really, really liked this novel and look forward to more from Elizabeth Letts.

White Picket Fences, book review

No family is perfect, no matter how they appear, and a picket fence can conceal more about what goes on inside a home than it reveals. This premise forms the basis for Susan Meissner’s latest novel, White Picket Fences, in which we meet Neil and Amanda Janvier, a couple who seems to have it all – a beautiful home, fulfilling jobs, two great kids. Not until Amanda’s niece Tally comes to stay does the weave begin to unravel as she and Chase, the Janvier's seventeen-year-old son, partner together on a school sociology project. As they interview two Holocaust survivors at an assisted living facility, the men’s recollections fuel Chase’s growing interest – and increasingly disturbing memories – of a long-ago house fire. Chase's quest to understand the truth of the tragedy threatens the very fabric of his family, who must answer for themselves a question: is it better to let the unpleasantness of the past stay in the past – or face it head-on, and deal with the consequences?

This novel showcases Meissner’s smooth prose, which is, as usual, flawless. But beyond that, I found the characters lacking depth, their dialogue banal, and their problems over-hyped. I felt, in fact, as if I were watching a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie: a pleasant story, but without deep roots to resonate with my soul. Even the inclusion of the Holocaust-survivor subplot seemed an attempt to beef up a thin tale.

I admire Susan Meissner’s clear style and her inspirational stories that appeal to both mainstream and Christian readers. When I picked up White Picket Fences, I hoped it would measure up to A Seahorse in the Thames, my favorite of her novels – but in this I was disappointed.