Review by Booklist Review
In her debut collection, Deal portrays characters struck by varying measures of loss and isolation and charts their struggles to understand and accept their predicaments. Nature follows a young married woman, Nikki, dealing with the emotional and physical aftermath of a debilitating car accident. She cautiously strikes up a relationship with her next-door neighbor, Feldon, a disabled police officer. As the two grow closer, Nikki begins to test the relationship with her husband. In the devastating Dinosaurs, Elizabeth, a young widow, travels with her in-laws and son to a dilapidated dinosaur park. During the outing, Elizabeth finds herself at odds with her overbearing mother-in-law, leading to a tense confrontation that offers a glimpse into the perception and depth of their grief. The deep-seated tension between two adult sisters reaches a breaking point in Six Foot, when, in the aftermath of their father's death, Nance pressures Jools to convince an elderly man to sell his property to profit Nance's boss. Throughout these nine striking stories, Deal deftly explores the moments during which her characters' lives shift or unravel.--Strauss, Leah Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
