The Stepmother
by Carrie Adams
List Price: $14.99
Pages: 368
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780061232664
Publisher: Avon A
Bea Frazier was once the apple of her husband's eye --- but now he's picked a more succulent fruit...
Bea thought she'd rediscover her incredible self after divorcing Jimmy. But being home alone with three daughters brings her demons back with a vengeance. The only solution is to get her family together again. The trouble is, her ex is about to marry someone else. To get him back she'll have to reveal the guilty secret she never could when they were married…
The "someone else" is Tessa King, who has finally found love. But her knight in shining armor comes with a catch --- or four: three sullen daughters and an ex who doesn't seem nearly ex enough. If the split was amicable, then why are all the other women in his life so hostile? After years of singledom, what is Tessa prepared to do to get her happy ending?
As the women negotiate carpools, puberty, and family loyalties, each finds it almost impossible not to fall into the old cliché of the bitter ex and the wicked stepmother. But if Bea and Tessa are brave enough, each may just find a friend where she once sought an enemy.
Absorbing and touching, humorous and honest, The Stepmother reminds us that there is always another side to the story.
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1. Whose story were you most affected by, Bea's or Tessa's? And who did you most identify with?
2. Throughout the novel we constantly alternate between Bea and Tessa's points of view. In what ways does the dual narrative enhance the story?
3. 'I know girls are tricky and complex, conniving and multi-faceted, but hey, I wouldn't have it any other way. It's why we are the interesting, contradicting creatures that we are.' In what way does The Stepmother explore this theme?
4. How did you think the children in the story were affected by Bea, James and Tessa's situation? Do you think the adults always acted with the children's best interests at heart?
5. James: utterly hopeless or merely easy-going? Were you ultimately irritated by, or sympathetic towards him?
6. How, if at all, has reading this book changed your perspective on the break-down of long-term relationships and the break-up of family units?
7. Were you surprised by how the book ends? Was the story tied up in a satisfying way?
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