Middle Ground

by Zoe Whittall, Michelle Monteith (Reading)

Missy Turner thinks of herself as the most ordinary woman in the world. She has a lot to be thankful for: a great kid, a loving husband, a job she enjoys and the security of living in the small town where she was born. Then one day everything gets turned upside down. She loses her job, catches her husband making out with the neighbor and is briefly taken hostage by a young man who robs the local caf. With her world rapidly falling apart, Missy finds herself questioning the certainties she's lived with her whole life.

Genres: Fiction, Canada, Short Stories, Novella, Crime, Audiobook, Mystery

Audio CD

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Zoe Whittall's latest novel, The Best Kind of People, spent 26 consecutive weeks on the Globe bestseller list, was shortlisted for the Giller Prize, was Indigo Best Book of the Year, Heather's Pick, Globe and Mail Best Book, Toronto Life Best Book of 2016, Walrus Magazine Best Book of 2016 . The film/TV rights have been optioned by Sarah Polley who will write and direct. She has two previous novels and three collections of poetry, and has written for the televisions shows Degrassi, Schitt's Creek, and The Baroness Von Sketch Show. She won the KM Hunter award for literature, and a Lamda Literary award for her second novel, Holding Still for as Long as Possible. Her debut, Bottle Rocket Hearts, was named one of the top ten novels of the decade by CBC Canada Reads, and one of the Best Books of 2007 by The Globe and Mail and Quill & Quire magazine. She has published three books of poetry, Precordial Thump, (exile, 08) The Best Ten Minutes of Your Life (McGilligan Books, 01) and The Emily Valentine Poems (Snare Books, 06.) The Globe and Mail called her "the cockiest, brashest, funniest, toughest, most life-affirming, elegant, scruffy, no-holds-barred writer to emerge from Montreal since Mordecai Richler…”. She was born in South Durham, Quebec, resided in Montreal during the early 1990s and has lived in Toronto since 1997.

Reviews

[Melinda Worfolk]

I read this to see if it would be a good book to order for my Fundamental English students, and I think we’ve found a winner. It’s got what my adult students need: an interesting, adult-focused story with compelling characters, written simply with low vocabulary variation. I liked that the characters did unexpected things, and it was not easy (for me anyway) to predict how the book was going to go. Sometimes with high-interest/low-literacy books, they can be a little formulaic and predictable. (And sometimes that’s what people want—something comforting that delivers no surprises.) But not this one!

[Anupama C K(b0rn_2_read) · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a short book, you understand the relevance of the title once you are halfway through the book. Missy Turner is happy with her life, when suddenly everything falls apart. She loses her job, her husband is sleeping with someone else and is held hostage by a robber at a Cafe.
I felt the story was incomplete. It kind of finished too fast. The ending has left me confused

[Petra Willemse · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I dove back into the reading pool (after a bad experience with a prior novel) with this short piece. I should have known that I wouldn't love it, since I didn't find Whittall's other novels to be overly amazing; however, I didn't expect that I would not like it as much as I did. It was silly and trite and obnoxious in a way that almost makes me reduce the rating even as I write this.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was great for what I needed, something easy and short to get back into reading. The pacing is good and stays interesting, with some twists and turns. The main character was likable enough and relatable so I was invested in what happens to her. Recommend for a short and easy read!

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

For lower reading level. Author from Quebec. Maybe I'll try a full length book of hers, but I wouldn't recommend reading this one.

[melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was drawn to the main character (Missy) because she seemed to be in a similar place in life as me (age, name, ect.) the start was an anything-that-can-go-wrong-will day. And who hasn’t had one of those? I kept reading because the author drops just enough hints to keep the suspense built, and to keep you reading. I wanted answers! It was a short book (which I loved. A nice break from some longer, more intense reads). It could be easily read in one sitting, or the short chapters would be good for people who are not big readers, or when you just have/need a short break. I loved it. The author managed to squeeze a lot of story into a few pages. It really had me thinking about some of Missy’s choices. Would I have done the same? At what point would I have done something different? Would I choose to help the ‘bad’ guy? It was essentially a book about choice, and who Missy would choose to be. The whole time I was thinking about it, and picking it apart as it related to me, it was totally believable. Her motivation was believable, and on the most part, what anyone would do. I never felt like I had to suspend my disbelief. I will definitely be hunting down more from this series of Rapid Reads, and will read more by this author when I find it.

[Peg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short, light novel which is listed as adult fiction, ages 16+, and seemed to be written more for the young adult set. The plot was interesting with a few twists that kept me wanting more. The protagonist, Missy, felt she was living the perfect life when one day everything went wrong. I asked myself several times what I would do in a similar situation when Missy was faced with difficult choices. I doubt that I would make the decisions she made but unless you have been faced with such decisions, you don't really know what you would do.

Even though her characters were not well-developed, the author wasted no words, she just got on with the story and I liked that!

Thanks to the publisher, Orca Book Publishers, via LibraryThing, for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the book cover: "Missy Turner thinks of herself as the most ordinary woman in the world. She has a lot to be thankful for: a great kid, a loving husband, a job she enjoys and the security of living in the small town where she was born. Then one day everything gets turned upside down. She loses her job, catches her husband making out with the neighbor and is briefly taken hostage by a young man who robs the local café. With her world rapidly falling apart, Missy finds herself questioning the certainties she's lived with her whole life."

This is a short novel, 'quick read', that makes you sit back and wonder what would you do in her shoes.

[Alicia]

Missy Turner thinks of herself as the most ordinary woman in the world. She has a lot to be thankful for: a great kid, a loving husband, a job she enjoys and the security of living in the small town where she was born. Then one day everything gets turned upside down. She loses her job, catches her husband making out with the neighbor and is briefly taken hostage by a young man who robs the local cafe. With her world rapidly falling apart, Missy finds herself questioning the certainties she's lived with her whole life.

[PoligirlReads · Rating 2 out of 5]

What did I just read?! I am a huge fan of Rapid Reads and their mission to make engaging and relatable books for emerging adult readers. This wasn't it. None of the characters are particularly likeable or relatable. I found myself rooting for team No One. It's not even clear--even with gunshot wounds involved--that any of the characters truly changed in any sort of meaningful way.

[Jody · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very quick read. Not much depth to the story or the characters. .. . . but can't expect much in a book that's less than 120 pages. But if you're just looking for some light, quick reading - this works.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Novella about a very bad day in the life of a young mother and wife. This story is written alright but really seems like a writing course assignment. Pretty unbelievable from start to end but easy to read and not offensive so I’ll give it Two stars.

[Sara Landers · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an okay book. It was a super easy read and under 200 pages. It was an interesting book but the story developed a little too quickly (which makes sense since it was designed to be a short book). Overall, it wasn’t bad. It won’t be a re-read for me but it was a nice rainy afternoon Book.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quick but I loved that about it. Short(er) stories are great about getting to the meat of everything and leaving the rest. I liked that everything in this book happened within a couple of days. Rough days for our friend Missy. It was great to be along for the ride.

[Emily D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tight and plausible plot. Would make a great movie.

[Vani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating: 2.5 stars

[Gillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not initially realise that this was a short story until I picked up the book at the library. Storyline was interesting but would have preferred to have read a full novel

[Sandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a short book but it didn’t feel finished. The story ended too abruptly and left me feeling unsatisfied

[Kaotickanadian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and sweet. A good day book read.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure how this ended up in my TBR pile, but I liked it for what it was--a short character study of messy, complicated people.

[Kim Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

quick read, not a very lengthy book, feels unfinished and rushed. Could use a bit more substance

[Karen Woodham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes you just need a quick story. This was perfect. Kept me entertained without a lot of extra nonsense.

[Linda Cousens · Rating 3 out of 5]

good story for the target audience.

[Jen Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A good read for those who prefer “easy” or “quick” reads.

[Sabina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zoe Whittall never misses!

[Erin Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 'Rapid Read' is a new concept for me and I think I really like it. The story although short, is pretty well fleshed out and moved along quickly. The characters were believable, and the main character, Missy, is pretty well fleshed out despite the shortness of the novel. It's a fast paced thriller that delivers. Recommended.

[Lauri Rottmayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, easy read. The story was interesting, if a little unbelievable.

However, Missy loses her job, comes home to find her husband cheating on her with the neighbor, and is part of a robbery at a diner so who knows how you’d act under similar circumstances.

If you need a light read, this would be a good one.

[Diane Ferbrache · Rating 2 out of 5]

Missy Turner is the victim of an armed robbery. She steps in to help the young barista when a man with a gun threatens her at her local coffee shop. Missy lets herself be taken hostage, gives him the keys to her car, and then lies to the police for him. She believes his story that he's just down on his luck and needs the money for his daughter. By the end of the book, we learn the truth.

This really brief book has several twists and turns that keep the reader interested. The odd part, though, is that the book seems to be marketed to high school students yet Missy is a woman (30?)with difficulties in her marriage. SPOILER ALERT! When she not only helps the robber, but starts an affair with him, will teens relate? Not sure. It's an OK story, but pretty brief and lacks depth of character. Seems to be written for the Harlequin Romance set.

[Em Milling · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this. Short, simple, to the point. I enjoyed how true the characters were, although Roger's shift could have been highlighted even more if there was more sincerity in his "nice" moments with Missy. I also really liked how the narrative didn't exhaust the situation that Missy was in. It was definitely the kind of situation that someone can find herself in, any day, and the reaction and the way it was executed worked perfectly for the book. It was just enough to glimpse into someone's life without being tied down by mundane details, and at the same time, knowing that it's not an unrealistic portrayal of what happens to people sometimes.

Great book!

[Steven Buechler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whittall knows what great literature is suppose to do, give readers pause to consider the ‘human condition.’ And she manages to do it with this small story about Missy Turner. Readers are vaulted into Missy’s ordinary life – a good job, a great husband and a teenage son who is a great kid – but all that is ruined in one bad day, and as we follow the narrative, we share Missy’s emotions and heartache through the story. Then the man with the gun appears and a rush of chaos and confusion envelops us all.

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