Saturday, August 15, 2009

Catching Genius by Kristy Kiernan

A rather endearing tale of two sisters where one was declared a genius when they were still kids. This lead to a separation that lasted well into their adulthood. The estrangement started gently enough with older sister Estella staying away from little sister Constance for fear of giving her the high 'eyecue' she was diagnosed with that threw their parents into a frenzy. What made it worse for Connie was the abandonment also of her Dad who took up Estella's cause in the belief that this greatness could only have come from his own illustrious ancestors. Their Dad passed away and in later years it was their Mom who gave them the chance to mend fences by inviting the two to pack up their childhood home for sale. Tensions flared, revelations happened, forgiveness asked and given and love withstood the test of time and events. Estella 'the math genius' was even able to offer assistance to Connie's older son Gib trailing in algebra. They came to terms and even found ways to protect Connie's younger son Carson who ended up being 'discovered' as a musical prodigy. Finally Mom revealed her own ever absent Father's penchant with numbers which gave closure to Estella who could never really fit her gift into her Dad's side of the family. Kiernan is a first time author and has done very well. The cover proclaims her to be welcomed by Jodi Piccoult's readers but I believe she has her own style and way of looking at things. She has written two other books since then.

This by the way was my husband's pick rather than mine from the Library since my luck had completely dried out and I had no browsing time to pick one with care. He has done a wonderful job and I am thinking of appointing him my book selector from now on:-) He always picked the right books whenever he thought of giving them to me as gifts. Read here to know more of the author and here for more on the book.