Up Island

April 28, 1997
Heroines who are beset by crises while trying to do their best by family and friends are Siddons's stock-in-trade. The appealing protagonist of her 12th novel (after Heartbreak Hotel) is Molly Redwine of Atlanta, who for two decades has devoted herself to her Coca Cola-exec husband, Tee, her two children--and the mythic concept of family togetherness. Now with 10 extra pounds bulking her statuesque figure and a nearly empty nest, Molly is devastated when Tee announces he's leaving her for a young attorney in Coke's legal department. When her manipulative, fault-finding mother suddenly dies shortly after they have had a rancorous conversation, an emotionally destroyed Molly takes temporary refuge with a friend on Martha's Vineyard--a terrain and atmosphere that Siddons evokes with insightful accuracy. Then, locked out of her own house by Tee's incredibly uncouth and presumptuous mistress, Molly impulsively decides to stay on the Vineyard through the winter as caretaker to two sick elderly women, the cancer-stricken adult son of one of them, two hostile swans and, eventually, her own father, a widower sunk in a deep depression. Naturally, this is the catalyst for a typical Siddons situation in which a woman whose life is in shambles finds love, security and meaning just where she least expected it. Siddons's main fault is laying on drama and complications with a trowel, as she again does here, especially in allowing Molly's mother to maraud in Molly's dreams. Yet her novels, including this one, are redeemed by her ability to deal with larger issues--here, loss of many kinds--while her engaging characters find their destinies in a suspenseful story. 250,000 first printing; $200,000 ad/promo; simultaneous audio; author tour; first serial and dramatic rights: Virginia Barber.

December 1, 1997
YA-For Molly Redwine, maintaining her family is the essence of her existence. When her husband announces he is leaving her for another woman, her world collapses. The "other woman" quickly takes over Molly's social position, her house, and even the affection of her son. With the sudden death of her domineering mother, Molly is truly set adrift. Escaping with friends to Martha's Vineyard, she starts the search for her own identity. When her friends depart, she stays on in a small cottage. As a renter, she must also assume the duties of caretaker of two cantankerous old women who share a haunting secret, a gravely ill and estranged son of one of those women, and two territorial swans. Through the winter, Molly struggles to nurture them as she searches for a future for herself. As with most of Siddons's heroines, Molly is an engaging woman who battles successfully with adversity and remains unsinkable. The author's fans will be delighted with her latest novel and its setting.-Katherine Fitch, Lake Braddock Middle School, Burke, VA

April 15, 1997
Following her resoundingly successful "Fault Lines" (1995), Siddons now introduces Molly Bell Redwine, the statuesque wife of an Atlanta blue blood. This story is a quest for family; her whole life, Molly, now a happy wife and mother in the wealthy Atlanta suburbs, has defined her universe by what she perceives to be her role in the family. Molly's world begins its descent upon learning that her husband not only has a mistress but also has plans to marry the younger woman. Her mother's sudden death only makes her ground shakier. Thus, without realizing it, Molly begins a journey to find a new family. She decides to stay on at Martha's Vineyard after visiting her friend there, and she proceeds to play familiar roles with new people. Siddons has always had a certain knack for weaving lyrical phrases and conveying a mood through her prose; her portrayal of the woman scorned is particularly poignant and insightful, as is her depiction of complex family dynamics. But the story gets frustrating because the reader wants everything to be right for Molly, and that certainly doesn't always happen. Sure there is some sort of resolution at the end, but it is a disjointed and odd conclusion. However, given the 250,000-copy first printing and aggressive marketing, this novel is sure to find its fans. ((Reviewed April 15, 1997))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1997, American Library Association.)

February 1, 1997
A woman whose family has fallen apart finds refuge on Martha's Vineyard, caring for others as a means of finding herself.