Publishers Weekly - 27.01.2020

BOOKLIFE.COM 101

FICTION

Water Is Wider

Marie Green McKeon | White Bird

316 pages, e-book, $5.95, ISBN 978-0-

9904338-3-5

In McKeon’s thoughtful but

sometimes implausible second

novel (after A Balm in Gilead), a

runaway in search of her missing

father forms a tight bond with a

meek middle-aged woman whose

life is slowly imploding. Though

the two don’t meet until nearly

halfway through, their stories

move in restless tandem until Sidney O’Neill discovers 11-year-

old Phoebe Locke hiding in her suburban Pennsylvania home.

Sidney, a proofreader and self-described spinster, is stuck in a

rut; she wears ill-fitting 20-year-old pants and eats lunch with

women she doesn’t like. Her mother, Agatha, called all the

shots, and after Agatha dies, her voice remains in Sidney’s

head. Cowed even by young Phoebe, Sidney decides to let the

girl stay with her. Meanwhile, Phoebe’s stepmother, Adele, is

shaken by fear and self-recrimination over Phoebe’s absence.

McKeon creates strong empathy for Phoebe, Sidney, and

Adele, powerfully exploring mother-daughter dynamics at

varying stages of life. The characters aren’t entirely believ-

able, though: Phoebe is preternaturally quick on her feet,

while Sidney hasn’t noticed that pay phones have all but

disappeared. Sidney’s behavior with J.T., her increasingly

paranoid and disturbed colleague at the failing Poppy Press,

exhibits such poor judgment as to fail the credibility test.

McKeon provides some backstory for J.T.’s downward mental

spiral and rants about the IRS and terrorists, but that doesn’t

explain why Sidney finds him

“mesmerizing” and is willing

to tolerate his uninvited,

unwanted intrusions into her

life even after realizing he

might be genuinely

dangerous.

Some of the story’s pivotal

moments hinge on obvious

contrivances: Sidney’s deci-

sion not to call Adele and send

Phoebe home, Adele’s unwill-

ingness to tell Phoebe why her

father abandoned the family,

and the menacing reappear-

ance after 50 years of Sidney’s

father. These flaws aren’t fatal,

but they reduce the story’s

emotional impact. McKeon’s

novel is at its strongest when it

puts chosen and blood families

under the microscope.

FICTION
Innocence Waning, Part I
Chezdon Mitchell | Chezdon Mitchell
288 pages, e-book, $2.99, ISBN 978-1-
9999612-9-9
Mitchell’s striking debut novel—
the first of two volumes set in
Melbourne, Australia—dives into
the psyche of a reckless gay teen.
One afternoon, 16-year-old
Chezdon Morrison and his mates
Jayden, Bryce, and Austin get
drunk and experiment with drugs.
Chezdon invites James, a 25-year-
old store clerk, to come over; fielding puzzled inquiries from
his friends, Chezdon admits he’s gay. Austin responds by
also coming out. After Chezdon rejects James, Chezdon and
Austin agree to date. Drama ensues as Chezdon finds ro-
mance, cheats, has sex, consumes various intoxicants, and
gets involved in both an assault and a schoolyard fight. The
installment abruptly cuts off after another episode of
violence.
Mitchell gives Chezdon a strong voice and a stronger person-
ality that take a little while to get comfortable with, but soon
readers will be hooked. He does not shy away from depravity—
the debauched afternoon among the boys is a virtuoso
sequence—but it is the sweet relationship that develops
between Chezdon and Austin that appeals most. It’s frus-
trating to watch Chezdon actively jeopardize that relationship
while trying to get what he thinks he wants. Chezdon is highly
impulsive, and the plot mostly consists of him careening from
one bad decision to another.
Mitchell is best with ambiguities, such as Chezdon’s rela-
tionship with Jayden, which
varies from intimate to antag-
onistic. The starker elements
get too hectic for Chezdon
(and the reader) to process.
The dialogue and narration are
also uneven, encompassing
both accurate teen speak and
highly didactic exchanges.
Some awkward word choices
(“drink from the ejaculating
showerhead”) and vivid
descriptions of bodily func-
tions disrupt the narrative,
but one erotic sex scene
proves Mitchell can write
effectively. Readers will likely
see where Chezdon’s down-
ward slide is going, but will be
eager to see whether he can
put himself back together in
part two.

This exploration of

mother-daughter

relationships, bio-

logical and other-

wise, will resonate

with readers of

women’s fiction.

Production grades:
Cover: B
Design & typography: B
Illustrations: –
Editing: B
Marketing copy: B-

Production grades

Cover: B-

Design & typography: B+

Illustrations: –

Editing: A

Marketing copy: B

Older queer teens

will enjoy living

vicariously through

the sex, drugs, and

drama of Mitchell’s

gay coming-of-age

novel.

PAID REVIEWS

Great for fans of

Scott Heim’s

Mysterious Skin,

Bret Easton Ellis.

Great for fans of

Jodi Picoult, Kristin

Hannah, Luanne Rice.