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Thursday, May 30, 2013
Even With Five Generations of Superagers and a Magical Olive Tree Orchard, this One Falls Flat For Me
9:58 PM
(Image from TLC Book Tours)


You may have noticed that I'm a sucker for a good family saga. The key word here being good. I've read too many lately that go on and on with the family part, forgetting that "saga" means story. In other words, something needs to happen, there has to be a plot. The main problem with The Roots of the Olive Tree, a debut novel by Courtney Miller Santo, is that it has none. There's nothing really driving the novel forward. The book has interesting (although interchangeable and not all that likable) characters, yes. Intriguing plot lines, also yes. Unifying plotline to bring it all together? Nope. Which means that, although Santo's prose flows along nicely enough, her first novel's, well, dull. I had enough interest in the Kellers to keep reading their story, but I was also happy for it to end so I could move on to something else. Although it had great potential, it just fell flat for me. And I so, so wanted to love it. Oh well.
(Readalikes: Reminds me a little of The Truth About Love & Lightning and Little Black Dress, both by Susan McBride)
Grade: C
If this were a movie, it would be rated: R for strong language (a few F-bombs, plus milder invectives) and some sexual content
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