Spectacular Things: Reese's Book Club
A Novel
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- 115,00 kr
Utgivarens beskrivning
REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK • Two sisters examine what they owe each other and what they are willing to sacrifice to make their dreams come true in this “epic story” (Reese Witherspoon) from New York Times bestselling author Beck Dorey-Stein.
What would you give up for the person you love most? What would you expect in return?
Mia and Cricket have always been close. The gifted daughters of a young single mother, the “Lowe girls” are well-known in the small Maine town they call home. Each sister has a role to fill: The responsible and academically minded Mia assumes the position of caregiver far too young, while Cricket, a bouncing ball of energy and talent, seems born for soccer stardom. But the cost of achieving athletic greatness comes at a steep price.
As Mia and Cricket grow up, they must grapple with the legacy of their mother’s secret past while navigating their own precarious future. Can Mia allow herself to fall in love at the risk of repeating a terrible history? Will Cricket’s relentless chase of a lifelong goal drive her sister away? When does loyalty become self-sabotage?
A sharply observed and tender portrait of sisters, love, and ambition, Spectacular Things is a sweeping story about the impossible choices we’re forced to make in pursuit of our dreams.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Dorey-Stein's engrossing latest (after Rock the Boat) follows the struggles and triumphs of two sisters from a family of soccer stars. It opens during the 2028 Olympics, with Cricket Lowe, 25, on the U.S. team. Her older sister, Mia, needs a kidney transplant following complications from giving birth, prompting Cricket to consider giving up her athletic career to become her donor. The story then rewinds to chronicle the many sacrifices the sisters and their mother, Liz, make on the long, hard road to securing Cricket's success. Liz, herself a soccer phenom who was destined for UCLA, gives up that path upon getting pregnant with Mia, who in turn abandons her Yale scholarship to serve as Cricket's legal guardian when Liz dies in a car accident. The author excels at revealing how both Cricket and Mia are affected by losing their mother, and in exploring the limit of family obligations. The novel also offers visceral depictions of grueling soccer practices and the single-minded dedication needed to become a top athlete, as evidenced in Cricket's mostly friendly rivalry with superstar Sloane Jackson, whose talent and meteoric rise push Cricket to improve her own game. By the time the plot returns to Cricket's decision, secrets about the siblings' father have been revealed, which make for intriguing parallels with Mia's story. This one fires on all cylinders.
