In many ways a pretty good story.
Olivia and her mom have a little bit of a rocky relationship. Olivia, idealistic champion of the poor, especially in under-developed nations, feels her mother is insensitive to the plight of those less fortunate than herself. Olivia has dropped out of college and is living with her illegal alien Mexican boyfriend in a bad neighborhood. She is working to make ends meet but with the boyfriend unable to find work they are struggling. The boyfriend feels inadequate and is offered easy work picking up and delivering drugs. Uh oh. He gets caught and both he and Olivia are brought up on drug charges. To complicate matters Olivia finds herself pregnant. She has to turn to her mother (she has never known who her father is) and the result is kind of 'coming of age the hard way' and 'resolving her relationship with her own mother' kind of story.
One important aspect of this book is the truth which the book is centered around and that is the injustice of our justice system, where the system fails. The author worked as a public defender and so has a lot of legitimacy to say what she does. She doesn't sugarcoat criminal activity and make excuses for it, but she vividly points out where and how the system fails and how thin the line can be between cops and thugs. What she says about Cuban refugee drug criminals being used by the DEA in order to save themselves (the Cuban drug dealers) from a life sentence was shocking to me. Think millions of tax free dollars to a criminals in order to prosecute the bottom rung members of the drug trade.

Reserved for the All in the Family Bookbox.

Put into the All in the Family Book box.

I pulled this book from the bookbox. I've been wanting to read it. Waldman is one of my favorite authors. Thanks, oliviapoolside!

I can't believe this book has been sitting on my shelf all those days I was wishing for something good to read!

I really enjoyed the complexity of this novel. It reminded me a little of T.C. Boyle's "The Tortilla Curtain" in that I thought I knew how I felt about illegal immigration and in this case, drug deals, but this book showed that things are not so black and white. I think it was expressed well by the author, with an insider's legal view.

Even Olivia and Elaine's rocky relationship had me swaying back and forth between who I empathized with more. At first, I thought I had a lot in common with Elaine, but was never so cold and distant from my children. Still, I could relate to her stand-offishness and depression as a single mother raising an infant/toddler. It's lonely.

I could also relate to Olivia, as I was an impassioned young woman who often took a stand for a cause. (Seems so long ago.)

I enjoyed this book thoroughly. Now I'm stuck with the same dilemma that I had before I picked it up: what should I read now? I want to find another good book.

I left this in the Wilkes Conference Center during the Murder & Mayhem Writer's Conference. The speakers at the event this morning matched what happened in the book perfectly! Excellent sessions.

By the time I left, the book was gone. Hope it found an appreciative reader.