FICTION

This Side of Providence

by Rachel M. Harper
Prospect Park. Apr. 2016. 396p. ISBN 9781938849763. pap. $16; ebk. ISBN 9781938849770. F
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Harper's second novel (after Brass Ankle Blues) tells the gut-wrenching account of Arcelia Perez, who flees Puerto Rico with her three small children to escape a failing marriage and ends up on the wrong side of Providence, RI. Fighting addiction, she lands in jail and goes through the symptoms of withdrawal. When she's released, she must learn how to cope with the world, all while trying to reunite her family, which has fallen apart in her absence. Told in alternating viewpoints, Harper's novel looks at multiple facets of a family: the struggling mother, the unavailable father, the three young children, and the teacher who becomes their mother figure.
VERDICT While a dense read, this powerful story about what it means to be a family and the struggles members endure to stay together will appeal to fans of Vanessa Diffenbaugh, Heather Gudenkauf, and dramatic family-centric fiction.
Reviewed by Mara Dabrishus, Ursuline Coll. Lib., Pepper Pike, OH , Mar 15, 2016
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