December 13, 2010
Cushman (Leaving Yesterday) creates a highly flawed heroine in Grace Graham, who returns to her small hometown of Shoal Creek, Tenn., after being entreated by her sister to pull some family duty by staying with their father, whom Grace dislikes, after he has surgery. Grace's belief in an all-natural lifestyle includes her refusal to vaccinate her four-year-old son, Dylan, who contracts measles shortly after he and his mother arrive in Tennessee. Grace then comes to see the consequences of many of her choices. This ripped-from-the-headlines, issue-driven narrative has a few problems. Much of the tension in the story comes from the progress of illness in children, so the pace can drag. Minor character Mrs. Fellows is a bit too obvious with her Sunday School story. Women who don't dote on young children won't find this story very compelling, but it will resonate for the audience of mothers whose lives are child centered.