FICTION

Limelight

Emily Bestler: Atria. May 2018. 404p. ISBN 9781501176371. $26; ebk. ISBN 9781501176395. F
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When Allison and her family—husband, two daughters, young son, and cat—move from Dallas to New York City, no one is sure it's a good idea. A number of issues keep her second-guessing her decision; to start with, downsizing from a house to an apartment proves more challenging than anticipated, from the too-small kitchen to the number of bathrooms. And her children aren't doing as well as expected either. Her teenage daughter had to leave her first love, her middle schooler falls in with the wrong crowd, and her young son is acting out in upsetting ways. After she loses her job and her replacement job, Allison is not sure she will ever be happy in her new city. Then a chance meeting with a spoiled Justin Bieber-esque star and the ensuing work give her a fresh lease on life. But will she be able to wrangle her charge and also keep her family from falling apart?
VERDICT With well-developed characters and an engaging plot, Poeppel's sophomore effort (after Small Admissions) is sure to please the many fans of the her first novel. [See Prepub Alert, 11/26/17.]
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