When Kathryn Stockett (author of The Help) is quoted saying she “loved this book,” I was excited. Unfortunately the book didn’t live up to my high expectations. I found The Help incredibly inspiring and I can’t wait for the movie, but A Soft Place to Land is lacking.
The story is about two young sisters, Ruthie and Julia, who are complete opposites. Each girl represents a specific archetype for the majority of the novel. Ruthie is your standard “goody two shoes,” while her older sister Julia is a cliché teenager dying to rebel. The relationship between these two sisters is what is meant to carry this narrative, but it doesn’t succeed until the later half of the novel.
While on vacation Naomi and Phil Harrison, Ruthie and Julia’s parents, perish in a plane crash leaving their daughters distraught. Ruthie is sent to live in bohemian San Francisco with her aunt and uncle, while Julia is “stuck” living with her biological father and his heinous new wife in Virginia. Much of the story is driven by a series of letters between the sisters. Each girl’s upbringing is totally different and obviously begins to define them, eventually causing a natural distance between the sisters. A high profile outing and another tragic accident eventually brings the estranged girls together again.
Details of the pain each daughter suffered after their parents’ accident make this story “real.” Unfortunately the relationship seems forced, and isn’t strong enough to carry the novel.
This is a quick read, but I wouldn’t put it at the top of your reading list.
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