CHILD'S PLAY - Danielle Steel
Dell – Random House LLC
ISBN-10: 0593168232
ISBN-13: 978-0593168233
ASIN: B07MGDJT1N
October 2019
Women's Fiction

New York – The Present

At fifty-four, Kate Morgan had the perfect upper-class family, although her husband, a congressman, died nineteen years ago in a helicopter accident. She had to raise her three children by herself with help from her mother. During this difficult time Kate also went to law school and is now an attorney with a prestigious law firm. Her children Tammy, Anthony, and Claire, have always been smart, well-behaved children who went to the best schools, graduated from respectable colleges, and are now sensible young adults with good jobs.

With her children out of the house, Kate has been enjoying a fling with a visiting senator from Massachusetts for the past six years. Her children don't know this, and otherwise, Kate's attention is centered on her children and her job. Everything is good until it isn't. First her youngest daughter gets pregnant and doesn't want to marry the baby's father. Then her other children begin making strange decisions, things they want to do even if against society's values. Then her lover ends their affair.

No person, no marriage, and no family, is perfect. Kate knows this, but she has never admitted it to her children. She must adjust to changes in her children's lives and in her own life, which is often a demanding endeavor. The story is told from an omniscient viewpoint, giving each character's reaction and thoughts as they happen. This somewhat slowed my engagement in the story. However, the story still has a strong draw for what Kate and her children will do as societal viewpoints and norms change between generations. It is also a story about how love can overcome divisive changes. CHILD'S PLAY is well-worth the read.

Robin Lee