Blue Plate Special by Michelle D. Kwasney

The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.Īutumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart their mothers are still best friends. Despite intergenerational differences, however, all three learn to make the most of the lives they inherit. While Kwasney effectively develops her characters into multidimensional personalities, convincing in their strengths and weakness, the coincidental plot feels contrived. From 1977 through 2009, Madeline, Desiree and Ariel tell their stories in alternating present-tense voices evoking the tone of their respective generations (Desiree in all–lower-case free verse). Madeline’s life changes when her boyfriend dies, leaving her pregnant, Desiree’s, when she’s raped and impregnated and Ariel’s, when she meets her maternal grandmother, and all three lives are pulled together in an epiphany of discovery, forgiveness and healing. Ariel’s father is incarcerated for murder and her possessive boyfriend stalks her, but her mother is loving and supportive. Desiree avoids her overly critical, negligent mother, who’s stoned on headache pills and glued to soap operas, by hanging out with her boyfriend. Growing up with a self-centered, single-parent, alcoholic mother, obese Madeline copes by indulging her insatiable hunger and being ultra-responsible. Three young women spanning three generations become intimately connected as their mothers’ mistakes affect their lives.

Blue Plate Special by Michelle D. Kwasney