Book review – STUCK IN THE MIDDLE

Captain's Log, Supplemental

Stuck in the Middle
by
Virginia Smith

From the back cover:

Joan Sanderson's life is stuck. Her older sister, Allie, is starting a family, and her younger sister, Tori, has a budding career. Meanwhile, Joan is stuck at home with Mom and her aging grandmother. Not exactly a recipe for excitement--or romance.

When a hunky young doctor moves in next door, Joan sets out to catch his eye. But it won't be easy. Pretty Tori flirts relentlessly, and Joan is sure that she can't compete. But with a little help from God, Allie, and an enormous mutt with bad manners, Joan begins to find her way out of this rut and into the life she's been hiding from.

Book 1 of the Sister-to-Sister series, Stuck in the Middle combines budding romance, soul searching, and a healthy dose of sibling rivalry that is sure to make you smile.

Camy here:

I liked this book because it was both poignant and funny, and both types of scenes were handled really well. I was laughing one page and crying the next.

It started off a bit slow for my taste, but I tend to like faster-paced books. However, after the first third of the book, the pace picked up a lot and I couldn’t put the book down.

The relationship between the family members is handled so well—subtle, emotional, complex, never cheesy. The sisters clash with each other but love each other fiercely. Same with Joan’s relationship with her mother and her grandmother. The family dynamics were both fun and emotionally satisfying for me.

I really liked how the story showed a girl who’s grown up going to church but doesn’t really have a deep, personal relationship with Christ. Her wonder at Ken and Karen’s faith is very realistic, and Ken and Karen are never preachy or in-your-face about their relationships with God. As Joan comes to know and understand God, it’s handled with so much grace, with cleverness and real empathy. I loved it.

Readers in their twenties and up will enjoy this. I’d give this to any high school student, too, because a lot of the issues Joan had with her sisters are things I’ve heard my youth group girls complain about their own siblings. Although, some of the other issues might be a bit out of their reader demographic since one sister is pregnant and the younger one is already out of college, and their mother is dealing with some issues with the grandmother.

All in all, a very satisfying read. I can’t wait for the next installment of the Sanderson sisters.