10 Things I Can See From Here by Carrie Mac (review)
Buy Issue for $25 at JHUP- 10 Things I Can See From Here by Carrie Mac
Library ed. ISBN 978-0-399-55626-5 $20.99
Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-399-55625-8 $17.99
E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-399-55627-2 $10.99
Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 8-10
It’s not much of a skill, but Maeve is splendidly adept at worrying; she can cite ominous statistics with the best of them and spiral into doom in seconds flat. Moving in with her dad for six months while her mom is on a research trip in Haiti isn’t going to help matters, especially since her dad is a relapsed substance abuser and her stepmother is pregnant. Luckily the right girl comes along, and Salix quickly becomes a calming, loving, positive force in Maeve’s life. Mac carefully makes clear that Maeve is plenty able to find joy other places than the perfect girl and that she’s working at dealing with her own problems; the romance is therefore lovely and cozy and free from overtones of dependency. Salix and Maeve are sexy and joyful together, which brightens Maeve’s life even though Salix can’t fix the fact that Maeve’s pop does a line of cocaine in front of her, or that sometimes she can’t breathe properly. The descriptions of anxiety are true and powerful, and if things are a bit too perfectly timed or wrap up a bit too cleanly, eh, who cares? Maeve deserves a bit of golden warmth, and romance buffs will likely revel in a book celebrating deep connection.
