Equilibrium

September 15, 2013
One year after Laura's husband, Jack, killed himself, she is finally learning to live with the guilt and grief of his death. Her main concern now is taking care of their two children, but just as her own life is getting back on track, theirs seem to be jumping the rails. While Laura is busy watching her pubescent son for signs of the manic depression that drove Jack to suicide, her teenage daughter, Darcy, is falling in love with the wrong guy. With money being yet another worry, renting out Jack's old studio seemed like an easy answer to at least one of her problems, but that was before she started falling in love with her handsome young boarder, putting her increasingly at odds with her daughter. Written alternately from the mother's and daughter's viewpoints, Thomson's first novel treats issues of loss, mental illness, adolescence, and sexuality with great openness and sensitivity. Fans of Kristin Hannah and Holly Chamberlin will similarly appreciate this hopeful, uplifting story about family, friendships, and a second chance at love.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)