Stephanie Kegan

I've had GOLDEN STATE hiding in my bookcase since 2015. I forgot about it. But now I've finally read it and can only wonder why I haven't heard more about Stephanie Kegan, this wonderful writer who I just discovered, since then. She seems so thoughtful and perceptive about her characters, and what a character study this book is!

Kegan's main character, Natalie, is a teacher, happily married to lawyer Eric. They have two daughters. They live in California, she has always lived there, her father was a California politician, and her ancestors were involved in California's development. But she's just realized that her brother, Bobby, may be a criminal, the "California bomber," responsible for seven deaths.

GOLDEN STATE is an examination of these families, Bobbie's mental health problems that are obvious now, the possible signs they chose not to see, and the damage this ordeal may be causing to Natalie's immediate family and to her marriage. From the time Natalie brings her suspicions to Eric's attention to the final verdict, the reader lives inside Natalie's head, sees and remembers everything from her point of view. I felt for her to the point that I was nervous when she was. You may wonder, how did Kegan imagine all this, because it sounds so real, like she really does know.

If you haven't read this almost-10-year-old book yet, do. It isn't out of date. But I do wonder why I haven't been able to learn anything current about Kegan. I want her to write another book.… (mais)

I entered to win this book from a Goodreads' First Reads giveaway, and while I won it, I was not terribly enthusiastic about starting it. The title was not all that inspiring, and the blurbs in the giveaway and on Goodreads didn't seem nearly as interesting once I won the book as they must have seemed when I entered the contest. But I read it, because I had it on my stack of TBR books, and I was pleasantly surprised. Rather than being about terrorism or a sort of journalistic account of a terrorist, this book turned out to be about what it is like for the innocent family of a terrorist, the non-criminal siblings, parents and other relatives whose lives are permanently altered by the discovery that the monster criminal terrorist on the news is a close relation. Without apologizing for the terrorist or trying to disinish the wrongness of terrorism, this book shows another side to terrorism, one which shows the ugly side of sensationalist media and the less than honest parts that authorities such as the FBI play in high profile cases. This novel is fiction, but it is based loosely off of the case of the Unibomber, and brings up some interesting observations and questions relevant to many other stories in more recent news. I'm still not sold on the title, and the cover art could be a lot better, but the book itself is great.… (mais)

Natalie had always felt close to and looked up to her older brother, Bobby. She believed that her politically prominent California family was close-knit and wholesome. When her own daughter is on campus at a time that a bomb is set off she reacts in shock. Even more so, as she realizes that Bobby is is responsible for the bombing and for others throughout California, she and her husband share the information with the FBI, Natalie's mother and sister choose to defend her brother, leading to even more family conflict. Lots of viewpoints to consider.… (mais)