Midwest Book Review

In The Things They Didn’t See, Jill and her family love boating until an accident robs them of their passion and turns it into a tragedy they each recover from in different ways. Their shared experiences and interests move in new directions to challenge not only individual concerns, but the schedules and pleasures the family has looked forward to all their lives. 

The novel opens with the hope of revised attitudes and experience as Jill endeavors to move her persona into a more carefree milieu:

 

...today, brimming with optimism and the endless possibilities that summer promised, she committed to rediscovering her fun-mom side. She’d revive Old Jill. The easygoing, smiling, funny woman she was when she and Matt first married. The mom she imagined she’d be before the busyness of having three children made her disappointingly serious. Of course, she’d always be type A because that’s how you got things done. But she’d also tease and laugh and not worry so much.

 

However, she finds herself still too immersed in organizing, logistics, and“timing things right so she didn’t let any of them down.”  

 

Teenager Jake is also struggling to grow in a new direction, while Jill’s husband Matt finds himself stuck in the middle, trying to forge peace between them, as battles keep driving the family apart. Jake’s resistance to Jill’s efforts to control him is narrated from both viewpoints, giving their different perspectives fine embellishment and understanding.

 

Forced to admit that perhaps she is “doing an appalling job of parenting on her own,” Jill makes astute observations about family, empowerment, and life changes:

 

Maybe that was the reason asking for help was so hard. You were giving up—admitting that you needed someone else to be the hero of your story.

 

Libraries will find all these insights and revelations perfect for book club recommendation and group discussion as well as individual enlightenment. Parents, family members, and all kinds of readers will appreciate the family’s coming of age and the changes they face as life forces them in seemingly disparate directions.

 

Filled with thought-provoking insights into family ties and what breaks or rebuilds them, The Things They Didn’t See is an excellent study in discovery and growth that will attract a wide audience with insights on family members under siege from both external and internal forces.