Spectacular Things: Reese's Book Club: A Novel

This novel is a story about sacrifice both in the context of family dynamics and what it takes to achieve greatness in sports. This theme is established in the opening section titled Opportunity wherein Cricket is pushed to make a snap decision that would have staggering consequences for either her or her sister Mia. The siblings are in their twenties in this gripping section, but in the next one, Monomyth (a hero’s journey), they aren’t yet born. Their mother Liz is eight years old. Monomyth begins by skimming through Liz’s childhood and teenage years as a soccer phenom with a bright future. When she becomes pregnant with Mia, she chooses to sacrifice a promising future and her relationship with her parents by refusing to give up the child. Liz then decamps to Maine with no support, settles in, then allows Mia’s deadbeat father back in her life long enough for him to get her pregnant with Cricket and disappear. From there, the story follows Liz and her children as their lives play out with various moments of sacrifice or tragedy until it circles back to the “opportunity” presented at the book’s opening. I like the Maine setting and the sports focus to the extent that it relates to supporting young girls in sports. Mia’s character has some depth, but I struggled to care about the others. Liz at times comes across as mature, others as naïve or perhaps stubborn. For example, she could have safeguarded her children’s futures by attempting a reconciliation with her parents. Gaining a safety net for her children, despite her feelings about her parents, would have shown growth. As to writing, the first section is an example of what could have been achieved in this book. It is taut and suspenseful, closing with a cliffhanger that isn’t resolved until the end of the book. That assumes a good deal of patience for readers since what follows is a race through backstory then drills, soccer practice, and soccer games. Again, supporting young women in sports is great but soccer as the narrative thrust can be mind numbing to those who aren’t into sports. Piggybacking on the telling writing style are hair-scratching points of view moments. One of several examples is when Liz arrives twenty minutes late to pick up Mia from nursery school summer camp. A man reclining in the passenger seat is stroking Liz’s neck when they arrive. Liz cuts the engine and rests her head on his shoulder, eyes closed. Seeing this unfold, it would be understandable if the teacher who is waiting with Mia connects Liz’s tardiness to a dalliance with this stranger, questioning whether Liz is using her head. Instead, it is four-year-old Mia whose stomach rumbles in concern as she opines, “You can only use your head if you keep your eyes wide open.” Thank you to Random House Publishing Group—Random House | Dial Press and NetGalley for providing this e-galley.