The Long Way Home: Second Generation by Ann M. Martin (review)

In Better to Wish (BCCB 6/13), the first Family Tree book, Martin introduced readers to Abby, a girl who grew up in small-town Maine before World War II; this second volume in the series focuses on Dana, Abby’s daughter, eight at the start of the novel in 1955. Dana loves her busy New York life and the exciting literary world that her father, a prominent writer, introduces her to, but when he dies in a drunken accident, Dana’s mother moves the family back to Maine. While Dana’s twin Julia loves the rural pace, Dana yearns to get back to the city and embark on an illustration career, so much so that she stuns the family by leaving as a teenager to live with her aunt in the city. As in the previous title, Martin provides snapshots of her heroine’s life at intervals of a half-year to a year, sometimes at moments of high drama (Dana’s father’s death) and sometimes at moments of significant reflections or decisions (Dana’s asking her aunt about coming to live in New York). The result is an unusually gradual acquaintanceship with the character that’s more common in cinema than juvenile novels, but it’s ultimately engaging. Though the long-term view helps cushion the eventfulness, there’s an overgenerous hand with melodramatic plot points; additionally, this is very much a second book, dependent on knowledge of the first both for understanding and for impact of some occurrences (especially Abby’s marriages). Readers who enjoyed the first book’s gentle and unhurried unfolding, however, will likely wish to pursue the family saga into this new generation.