The Edge of the Sky

After reading "Wildwood" i was a bit skeptical about trying this book. I was very suprised at how much i enjoyed it. Micki and Beth showed me how teenagers these days aren't the "little angels" everyone thinks they are. Great reality reading!

This is one of those terrific novels that show how real people -- people we all can relate to -- deal with life's ups and downs. Lana loves her family -- husband and two teenage daughters -- but questions her parenting abilities and interest. When tragedy strikes, she faces challenges as simple as getting out of bed in the morning and as complex as dealing with one daughter's psychological problems. Oh, yes, and there's her own narcissitic mother, her seemingly helpless younger sister and a somewhat overbearing older sister. The psychology in this book rings true, from Lana's insecurities as an adoptive mother to the teenagers' often irrational thought patterns. The payoff, in the end, is what every truly satisfying novel has: characters who have grown and changed, right before your eyes. I couldn't put this one down.

I've been reading Drusilla Campbell since way back when she wrote historical romances and this is definitely her best book ever. The writing is fresh and smooth, I loved the suspense and and all the family details struck me as just so real I felt like I really knew the Porter family. I cried at the end. You'd have to be a stone heart not to. For anyone who has ever tried to raise kids alone, The Edge of the Sky is the perfect book. I loved watching Lana grow up right along with her girls.

"This Edge of the Sky" is, quite simply, one of the best books I've ever read. It's the kind of book you can't stop reading and don't want to end. I buzzed through the book in two days, stopping only to put ice on my poor, strained eyes, then I HAD to go back and read again. Dru Campbell made her characters so real that I wanted to call her main protagonist, Lana, and ask her out for coffee to see how her girls were doing. The book takes place in and around San Diego. I've lived there for over seventeen years and recognized all the places the characters visited. Dru's descriptions and figurative language make the book sing. I could smell the flowers in her garden and hear the wind chimes, feel the hot Santa Ana winds scoring my skin, and smell rough fur of her old dog when she knelt to kiss his graying muzzle. I usually read a book and then pass it on to a friend to enjoy, but this one is a keeper and I know I'll read it again and again. Anyone who has daughters, sisters, mothers or good friends has to read this book. It's wonderful.

Drusilla Campbell's new novel, "The Edge of the Sky" is a fascinating insight into the dynamics of families - especially those who are raising or have raised teen aged daughters. Ms. Campbell is a master at understanding both the minds and actions of the parents and the thoughts and behavior of teen agers. It is a challenge which she has met brilliantly. This new novel is her best by far, and her descriptions of the area in Southern California are so vivid and apt that even a person who has never seen that area could picture it correctly. This new novel is a "must read" for all of Ms. Campbells fans!