Reflection

by Mary Sheldon

A richly textured novel of love, family, and destiny, told in alternating scenarios, begins with the divorce of Zoe and Barton Andrews, and follows their daughter Caroline as she leads two parallel lives--one with her father, an architect, and one with her mother, a Hollywood actress, with unexpected and extraordinary results. Reprint.

Genres: Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

daughter of Sidney Sheldon

Reviews

[Reading in the sun · Rating 4 out of 5]

This poignant story follows a girl navigating life with divorced parents living on opposite coasts, each leading vastly different lifestyles. The narrative masterfully shifts between three distinct scenarios: her life growing up primarily with her father, her life with her mother, and the subtle nuances of each path. The characters, including the girl herself, are realistically flawed, making their choices and their imperfect lives deeply relatable. The transitions between these parallel realities are generally seamless, with only a few instances of minor confusion. I found myself thoroughly engrossed, savoring the story in three captivating sittings.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

How I Came To Read This Book: My sister slipped it into a bag of things that were *actually* mine. Apparently I wasn't 'missing much' by not reading this, but I did anyway.

The Plot: The book kicks off in 1956. Zoe is a new mom on the verge of a divorce after a whirlwind romance, but she still has dreams of becoming a talent scout. In one version of the story, Zoe accepts a job offer to be a scout in Europe. She sends her infant daughter Caroline to live with her soon-to-be ex-husband Barton, in New York City. In another version, Zoe isn't offered the job. She stays in Los Angeles with her daughter Caro, and opens up her own children's talent agency. From there on, the book examines the relatively simultaneous stages of growing up in each version of Caro/line's life - childhood, preteen, high school, college age, and young adulthood. The girls' parallel lives often intersect in interesting ways, but at the end of the day, neither one lives a life that is particularly charmed.

The Good & The Bad: For a mass market book, this was relatively a interesting and inspired concept. There isn't a whole lot of plot, characterization, or historical context (which is funny when you consider the author chose to zero in on a specific year to start), but it's interesting to see where and when the girls would have crossed paths were there really two of them. The book is very much exemplary of how the grass isn't necessarily greener, and that what each version of Caro/line would have envied in the other might not have turned out how they imagined. Ultimately I felt like the parents were both extremely selfish and really impacted Caro/line - I can only imagine what would have happened to her had they stayed together! Circling back to the timeline thing, that was probably the most irksome part of the book for me - Zoe's actions in particular stand in wild contrast to what history has told us about the 50s/60s. If anything, the book felt like it was set in the 80s/90s. One last thing - horrible cover design.

The Bottom Line: A breezy read that was more captivating than you might expect.

Anything Memorable?: Nope

50-Book Challenge?: Book #25 in 2010.

[Brig · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book about a girl/woman over her lifetime, told from two perspectives, one story was if she had grown up with her father, and the other story with her mother. Happy and sad, tragic and joyous at times, however I found this book was hard to read at first. I picked it up and put it down in frustration as the author interweaves the multiple, and supposedly alternate story lines. I feel the author should have made this story using 2 completely different stories, as the book was hard to follow. Was it Caro who didn't watch her brother? Was it Caroline who did drugs? Even though the chapters were labeled as such, it was still confusing. I do think if you have the book and want to put it down keep reading, it gets better. 3 1/2 Stars.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read about individual personalities, choices and fate. The story grabs you from the start and keeps you reading. Very well-written with an intriguing premise that makes you reflect on life a little differently. This would make a great book club choice with so much to talk about and contemplate (from the characters lives, choices, and personalities - to the readers lives, choices and personalities.) This is not a classic, it is not a great work of art - but I really, really, really liked it.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly imteresting plot line. I do not usually go in for stories and movies that jump from one time frame to another, but this story was different. It told a story of one girl growing up in two different scenarios. Lovely story that had you wondering about fate, karma and other such things.