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Wrong Highway
It is 1986. Erica Richards lives in West Meadow, Long Island, with her four young children and successful Wall Street analyst husband. But don't be fooled by her seemingly placid suburban lifestyle. Erica is fierce, curious, uncompromising, and often impulsive. When her teenage nephew Jared rebels against his straight-laced parents he turns to Erica for help, setting in motion a chain of events that will take all of them careening down a dangerous and twisty highway. Buckle your seatbelt, crank up the '80s soundtrack, and learn how stunningly easy it is to keep big secrets in plain sight. Wendy Gordon has been a journalist for over 25 years. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and children. This is her first book.
390 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 28, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 9, 2016
Wendy Gordon LOVES the 1980s! I mean really, really loves the 80s! If you don’t believe me, all you have to do is read her debut novel, WRONG HIGHWAY (Shepherd Books). It’s about two sisters on Long Island, acting the way girls did in the 80’s, but in a very sisterly way!
Before I even get into the book, let me tell you, she has an 80’s playlist at the beginning with her favorite songs starting off with her vote for the iconic song of the 80’s: The Talking Heads, ONCE IN A LIFETIME. I can live with that! She also has Guns ‘n Roses, WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE. I can’t tell you how many times I turned that up and rocked out in my car! There’s Billy Joel, Phil Collins something for everyone. My only beef? No Go Gos or MADONNA! How is that even possible! She has one Cyndi Lauper, but no MADONNA? Let it go, Roesel. Okay, let’s get to the book!
It’s 1986. West Meadow, Long Island.
“Anonymity might seem an alien concept when you live in the same neighborhood you’d grown up, surrounded by people you’d known your whole life, but the fact was, all anyone noticed was surfaces. Did you eyes look bleary, had you put on any weight, did you add a new bathroom on your house, did you sound congested? All you needed was to put on the thinnest of veneers, and no one dared to peek behind. You didn’t have to be a good liar. Just a consistent one.” THE WRONG HIGHWAY
Ericka, best known as Rikki and Debbie are sisters, and they’ve been like oil and water since they were kids. Now both in their 30’s, Debbie has a husband and son and Rikki, has a successful Investor husband, three young boys and a newborn. Debbie’s husband is a DJ for a local radio station who resents Mr. Wall Street and she hates that she has to work outside the home as a hairdresser and their son, Jared is in those difficult teen years. Rikki stays home to take care of her kids, but doesn’t want to grow up and feels trapped by her domestic life. Her husband, Ethan is rolling in those yuppie Wall Street years that someone is eventually going to have to pay for.
Life in the suburbs was never so ordinary, yet complicated and curious. Wendy Gordon has a unique way of making packing up the kids to go to Pathmark, meeting Don Johnson in real-live and breaking down in the brand new Volvo 760, she’s named “Vince” all an adventure. I haven’t even mentioned the fighting, hospitalization, alcohol and drugs. A peek into the life of another family that takes the East Meadow exit, off the LIE.
From one Long Island Girl to another, I enjoyed WRONG HIGHWAY, Wendala! I was just a bit overwhelmed by the length. You might want your editor to be a bit more aggressive with the red marker on your next novel. Can’t wait to read it!
For all things WENDY check out her website: http://www.wendygordon-wronghighway.com or twitter @westmeadowrikki
Before I even get into the book, let me tell you, she has an 80’s playlist at the beginning with her favorite songs starting off with her vote for the iconic song of the 80’s: The Talking Heads, ONCE IN A LIFETIME. I can live with that! She also has Guns ‘n Roses, WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE. I can’t tell you how many times I turned that up and rocked out in my car! There’s Billy Joel, Phil Collins something for everyone. My only beef? No Go Gos or MADONNA! How is that even possible! She has one Cyndi Lauper, but no MADONNA? Let it go, Roesel. Okay, let’s get to the book!
It’s 1986. West Meadow, Long Island.
“Anonymity might seem an alien concept when you live in the same neighborhood you’d grown up, surrounded by people you’d known your whole life, but the fact was, all anyone noticed was surfaces. Did you eyes look bleary, had you put on any weight, did you add a new bathroom on your house, did you sound congested? All you needed was to put on the thinnest of veneers, and no one dared to peek behind. You didn’t have to be a good liar. Just a consistent one.” THE WRONG HIGHWAY
Ericka, best known as Rikki and Debbie are sisters, and they’ve been like oil and water since they were kids. Now both in their 30’s, Debbie has a husband and son and Rikki, has a successful Investor husband, three young boys and a newborn. Debbie’s husband is a DJ for a local radio station who resents Mr. Wall Street and she hates that she has to work outside the home as a hairdresser and their son, Jared is in those difficult teen years. Rikki stays home to take care of her kids, but doesn’t want to grow up and feels trapped by her domestic life. Her husband, Ethan is rolling in those yuppie Wall Street years that someone is eventually going to have to pay for.
Life in the suburbs was never so ordinary, yet complicated and curious. Wendy Gordon has a unique way of making packing up the kids to go to Pathmark, meeting Don Johnson in real-live and breaking down in the brand new Volvo 760, she’s named “Vince” all an adventure. I haven’t even mentioned the fighting, hospitalization, alcohol and drugs. A peek into the life of another family that takes the East Meadow exit, off the LIE.
From one Long Island Girl to another, I enjoyed WRONG HIGHWAY, Wendala! I was just a bit overwhelmed by the length. You might want your editor to be a bit more aggressive with the red marker on your next novel. Can’t wait to read it!
For all things WENDY check out her website: http://www.wendygordon-wronghighway.com or twitter @westmeadowrikki
August 5, 2020
good read
June 17, 2016
Erica Richards is a suburban housewife who has everything she could ever want - except excitement. A stay-at-home mom of four, Erica and her family live in West Meadow, Long Island. The suburbs. Her daily routine includes a morning workout class (sometimes), shuttling the kids to and from school and other activities, occasionally fielding her sister's latest perceived disaster, and having dinner on the table by the time her husband gets home. If all goes well, that is. If the car hasn't broken down. If there isn't a prior engagement planned. If her husband isn't traveling.
And then her nephew begins acting out and bruises start to appear all over her sister. At Debbie's request, Erica tries to strike up a conversation with her nephew and find out what's going on. But her attempts to help start to turn her life upside down, leaving Erica unsure what to do next.
Wrong Highway is oh, so eighties and I love it! With nods to the era's pop culture, Wendy Gordon's suburban heroine navigates the highways and byways of her life as a mom, a wife, and a woman struggling to stay on the right path. But that "wrong highway" becomes too tempting for Erica to resist.
Erica's frequent reminiscing about her time as a nurse - when faced with her sister's hypochondriac melodrama, when talking to people she feels she needs to validate herself to, even when considering her husband's success - is just one sign of her on discontent. Motherhood is her job and she feels pressure and judgment in that regard when she's amongst her husband's peers, for example. But she's also bored. Her career was challenging and stimulating and that stimulus is missing in her current situation, or so she believes.
Jared, her nephew, offers a release. Something new. And something thrilling. She helps him in covering with his parents, who she makes no bones about losing respect for throughout the story, and ends up using him to find her own excitement.
Of course Erica's dabbling with the dark side starts to catch up to her.
A running subplot of the story is Erica's belief that her sister may be a victim of abuse. I hadn't realized that the set time of the story (1986) was the beginning of domestic violence as an actual legal offense and crime that could finally be punishable by law. Erica's suspicions, founded or not, do lead to her discovering just how difficult making a case for abuse still was, though.
Wrong Highway is a quick and engaging read - and a character driven one for sure, which is usually not my cup of tea. The combination of setting (the eighties) and Erica herself had me completely hooked, though, and hers was a story I definitely wanted to see through to the end.
And then her nephew begins acting out and bruises start to appear all over her sister. At Debbie's request, Erica tries to strike up a conversation with her nephew and find out what's going on. But her attempts to help start to turn her life upside down, leaving Erica unsure what to do next.
Wrong Highway is oh, so eighties and I love it! With nods to the era's pop culture, Wendy Gordon's suburban heroine navigates the highways and byways of her life as a mom, a wife, and a woman struggling to stay on the right path. But that "wrong highway" becomes too tempting for Erica to resist.
Erica's frequent reminiscing about her time as a nurse - when faced with her sister's hypochondriac melodrama, when talking to people she feels she needs to validate herself to, even when considering her husband's success - is just one sign of her on discontent. Motherhood is her job and she feels pressure and judgment in that regard when she's amongst her husband's peers, for example. But she's also bored. Her career was challenging and stimulating and that stimulus is missing in her current situation, or so she believes.
Jared, her nephew, offers a release. Something new. And something thrilling. She helps him in covering with his parents, who she makes no bones about losing respect for throughout the story, and ends up using him to find her own excitement.
Of course Erica's dabbling with the dark side starts to catch up to her.
A running subplot of the story is Erica's belief that her sister may be a victim of abuse. I hadn't realized that the set time of the story (1986) was the beginning of domestic violence as an actual legal offense and crime that could finally be punishable by law. Erica's suspicions, founded or not, do lead to her discovering just how difficult making a case for abuse still was, though.
Wrong Highway is a quick and engaging read - and a character driven one for sure, which is usually not my cup of tea. The combination of setting (the eighties) and Erica herself had me completely hooked, though, and hers was a story I definitely wanted to see through to the end.
June 29, 2016
Set in 1980’s Long Island, Wrong Highway gives new meaning to the term, “dysfunctional family.”
I received a complimentary copy of this book through TLC book tours for an honest and fair review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Wrong Highway follows Erica Richards and her family who live in West Meadow, Long Island in the mid-1980s. She has three boys and a new baby girl. She stays home with the kids while her husband works on Wall Street. Her relationship with her sister, Debbie is strained on many levels. Debbie has one son, Jared, who has many problems, the least of which is his lack of respect and concern for her. Ron, Debbie’s husband is hard on Jared who ends up turning to his aunt for support. This leads him and Erica down a highway to drugs and other problems. One turns leads to another and before long Erica finds herself on a highway she never intended to be on with little idea how to turn around and find the right road.
This was a very interesting and quick read. While I didn’t agree with the actions of the characters, a mom with a newborn doing drugs, the way they were written made them seem as if all this was their natural course of action. Every family has problems, but here we see those problems brought out and exaggerated to an extreme level. It was easy to find certain characters dislikable and others I found myself agreeing with their course of action. Having grown up in the 80’s, I enjoyed going back to that decade for the duration of the story. Everything was well placed and correlated with the time period written. The plot was nothing big but the best thing the author did was really develop the characters so that when they were speaking or doing something, their actions seemed right for them at that time. I’m trying to come up with other negatives for the writing but not much comes to mind. The writing itself was well done but there were parts I didn’t particularly enjoy, a little bit of language and the drug use, but it was an overall enjoyable read and the end seemed to just end in not the best way I felt a little more effort could have been applied to tie up the end a little neater .
I would recommend this book for mature readers.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through TLC book tours for an honest and fair review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Wrong Highway follows Erica Richards and her family who live in West Meadow, Long Island in the mid-1980s. She has three boys and a new baby girl. She stays home with the kids while her husband works on Wall Street. Her relationship with her sister, Debbie is strained on many levels. Debbie has one son, Jared, who has many problems, the least of which is his lack of respect and concern for her. Ron, Debbie’s husband is hard on Jared who ends up turning to his aunt for support. This leads him and Erica down a highway to drugs and other problems. One turns leads to another and before long Erica finds herself on a highway she never intended to be on with little idea how to turn around and find the right road.
This was a very interesting and quick read. While I didn’t agree with the actions of the characters, a mom with a newborn doing drugs, the way they were written made them seem as if all this was their natural course of action. Every family has problems, but here we see those problems brought out and exaggerated to an extreme level. It was easy to find certain characters dislikable and others I found myself agreeing with their course of action. Having grown up in the 80’s, I enjoyed going back to that decade for the duration of the story. Everything was well placed and correlated with the time period written. The plot was nothing big but the best thing the author did was really develop the characters so that when they were speaking or doing something, their actions seemed right for them at that time. I’m trying to come up with other negatives for the writing but not much comes to mind. The writing itself was well done but there were parts I didn’t particularly enjoy, a little bit of language and the drug use, but it was an overall enjoyable read and the end seemed to just end in not the best way I felt a little more effort could have been applied to tie up the end a little neater .
I would recommend this book for mature readers.
July 5, 2016
Living is like a highway. There are roads that lead in different directions. Sometimes you are on the straight and narrow road. Then the road veers off into other roads going into different directions. Which direction you go and which road you take is up to you. At times that road may go in the wrong direction and that road will lead into another road and so on. Your life starts to spiral in a down ward direction. This book is about which road Ericka will take. She was on the straight and narrow road but at some point she took the wrong turn which continually led her to more wrong turns.
Two sisters, back in the 80's, Ericka (Rikki) and her sister, Debbie are different as night and day. Always have been since really young and are still that way, years later. Both girls, in their 30's, are married. Rikki has a successful husband, Ethan, three little boys and a baby girl. Debbie's husband Ron, is a DJ. Debbie works as a hairdresser. They h ave a teenage son, Jared.
The author gives us family fighting, drugs,and drinking.
I could picture the scenes of Rikki, taking care of her kids, trying to be a friend to Jared, her drugs leading to more drugs, the never ending fighting with her sister and her sister's husband. You are there as Rikki veers off the right highway, although it has the usual potholes, onto the exits which lead her to one wrong road and another after that. Will she be able to get back on the right path? Will she continue taking her drugs or will she find a way out? As you read you find some of the characters are so likeable and others, you absolutely can't stand. This story is almost completely about the characters. The author developed them so well that you feel their emotions and can picture them day in and day out.
If you grew up in the 80's, you can definitely picture the shag carpet, the baggies of drugs, the clothing, "Vince" the Volvo and all that takes place. You can relate. Take a ride with Ericka on a road she doesn't want to be on and is not sure how to find the right exit.
I received this book from the author, Wendy Gordon and Night Owl Reviews in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.
Two sisters, back in the 80's, Ericka (Rikki) and her sister, Debbie are different as night and day. Always have been since really young and are still that way, years later. Both girls, in their 30's, are married. Rikki has a successful husband, Ethan, three little boys and a baby girl. Debbie's husband Ron, is a DJ. Debbie works as a hairdresser. They h ave a teenage son, Jared.
The author gives us family fighting, drugs,and drinking.
I could picture the scenes of Rikki, taking care of her kids, trying to be a friend to Jared, her drugs leading to more drugs, the never ending fighting with her sister and her sister's husband. You are there as Rikki veers off the right highway, although it has the usual potholes, onto the exits which lead her to one wrong road and another after that. Will she be able to get back on the right path? Will she continue taking her drugs or will she find a way out? As you read you find some of the characters are so likeable and others, you absolutely can't stand. This story is almost completely about the characters. The author developed them so well that you feel their emotions and can picture them day in and day out.
If you grew up in the 80's, you can definitely picture the shag carpet, the baggies of drugs, the clothing, "Vince" the Volvo and all that takes place. You can relate. Take a ride with Ericka on a road she doesn't want to be on and is not sure how to find the right exit.
I received this book from the author, Wendy Gordon and Night Owl Reviews in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.
June 1, 2016
A cautionary tale about the dangers of "mixing in" - they had me at suburbia in the 80's!
The prologue of the book hooked me in before the story even officially started. A flashback to Erica's youth; an introduction to Wendy's realistically descriptive style of writing. Her characters aren't characters, they're people, and she establishes this in the first 9 pages of her debut novel.
While at certain points in the story I was mentally shrieking "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" at the main character, Erica, I could relate to her desire to escape the monotony of everyday life as an adult to experience the things that thrilled her in her youth one more time. There are few things in life I would choose dishes and grocery shopping over.
The story itself is simplistic enough in that it's essentially a tale about a suburban family that seems to have it all together from the outside with Sunday Dinners and all, but isn't as polished and perfect as others think. The characters really make it something special as their secrets, hang ups, inability to communicate, and escapism culminate in a series of unfortunate events.
My only hangup, is the length. I'd have preferred a slightly shorter, narrower, highway towards the conclusion. Other than that though, it was a solid story.
The prologue of the book hooked me in before the story even officially started. A flashback to Erica's youth; an introduction to Wendy's realistically descriptive style of writing. Her characters aren't characters, they're people, and she establishes this in the first 9 pages of her debut novel.
While at certain points in the story I was mentally shrieking "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" at the main character, Erica, I could relate to her desire to escape the monotony of everyday life as an adult to experience the things that thrilled her in her youth one more time. There are few things in life I would choose dishes and grocery shopping over.
The story itself is simplistic enough in that it's essentially a tale about a suburban family that seems to have it all together from the outside with Sunday Dinners and all, but isn't as polished and perfect as others think. The characters really make it something special as their secrets, hang ups, inability to communicate, and escapism culminate in a series of unfortunate events.
My only hangup, is the length. I'd have preferred a slightly shorter, narrower, highway towards the conclusion. Other than that though, it was a solid story.
June 4, 2016
I received a free copy of this book through goodreads giveaways. All opinions are my own.
The book was a little longer than it needed to be and seemed to drag out pointlessly at certain points and then pick back up and suck me right back in. This is not a book where you fall in love with the main character. She is selfish and immature, and tends to do things that make you want to reach right into the book and shake some sense into her.
I'm not sure if the reader was supposed to root for the main character in this book. I personally kind of despised her, along with all the other characters. On the outside they would all seem like normal people in suburban families, but as you got to know them, they all had something horrible about them. Which I guess is supposed to be the point of this book. It had that vibe of "the grass is not always greener on the other side". No matter how perfect somebody may seem, behind closed doors they may be somebody completely different.
The book was a little longer than it needed to be and seemed to drag out pointlessly at certain points and then pick back up and suck me right back in. This is not a book where you fall in love with the main character. She is selfish and immature, and tends to do things that make you want to reach right into the book and shake some sense into her.
I'm not sure if the reader was supposed to root for the main character in this book. I personally kind of despised her, along with all the other characters. On the outside they would all seem like normal people in suburban families, but as you got to know them, they all had something horrible about them. Which I guess is supposed to be the point of this book. It had that vibe of "the grass is not always greener on the other side". No matter how perfect somebody may seem, behind closed doors they may be somebody completely different.
September 6, 2016
I received a free copy of this book through Goodreads giveaways.
This is an engrossing family drama set in 1980s suburbia. It starts off a bit slow and seems overly descriptive at first, but it really does pick up the pace and crazy things are happening by the end. As crazy as it gets, it evolves to that point naturally with fully developed characters.
You don’t have to be really into 80s nostalgia or music to enjoy this. It might be an extra bonus for some people, but it’s not that big a part of the book. It’s much more about the boredom of adult life driving a stay at home mom to increasingly risky and destructive behavior. All of the characters have major flaws, but are also perfectly right about some things. Everyone’s a little gray and it’s hard to say who’s right and who’s wrong at the end.
This is an engrossing family drama set in 1980s suburbia. It starts off a bit slow and seems overly descriptive at first, but it really does pick up the pace and crazy things are happening by the end. As crazy as it gets, it evolves to that point naturally with fully developed characters.
You don’t have to be really into 80s nostalgia or music to enjoy this. It might be an extra bonus for some people, but it’s not that big a part of the book. It’s much more about the boredom of adult life driving a stay at home mom to increasingly risky and destructive behavior. All of the characters have major flaws, but are also perfectly right about some things. Everyone’s a little gray and it’s hard to say who’s right and who’s wrong at the end.
June 24, 2016
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
I enjoyed this book overall, but it did bog down in places. I think it could just as easily have taken place now as in the 80s with a little changeup in the playlist of music.
I enjoyed this book overall, but it did bog down in places. I think it could just as easily have taken place now as in the 80s with a little changeup in the playlist of music.
June 18, 2016
This was a terrific read. I was quickly drawn in and never let down. It is an authentic and honest look at how effortlessly one can step onto the wrong highway in life. And if, as I was, you were thirty something in the 80's; you may just find that you know these people in one form or another!
May 26, 2016
A refreshing read on the crushing realities of motherhood and the wish to experience the teen/college years just once more.
January 3, 2017
Wendy is in my book group. Will write a better review later.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews