Golden State by Stephanie Kegan – 300 pages
Book Blurb:
All her life, Natalie Askedahl has played the part of the good girl. Growing up as the youngest child in one of California’s most prominent political families, she worshipped her big brother, Bobby, a sensitive math prodigy who served as her protector and confidante. But after Bobby left home at sixteen on a Princeton scholarship, something changed between them as Bobby retreated deeper into his own head. Now that Natalie is happily married, with two young daughters, a satisfying job, and a house in the Berkeley Hills, her only real regret is losing Bobby.
Then, a bomb explodes in the middle of her ideal-seeming life. Her brother is accused of carrying out a lethal campaign of terrorism against California’s universities. Thrust into overnight notoriety, Natalie is torn between helping him and protecting her own family. The decisions she makes will send her down a rabbit hole of confusion, lies, and betrayals that threaten to destroy her relationships with everyone she holds dear. As her life splits irrevocably into before and after, what she begins to learn is that some of the most dangerous things in the world are the stories we tell ourselves.
My Review: 4 stars
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Golden State was one of those books I chose for the cover and the inside blurb. I was looking for something different and I did, with much success. The protagonist in this book is a mid 40’s mom, teacher and wife and somehow finds herself in complete media frenzy when she implicates her brother as being the Cal Bomber.
Told from Natalie’s POV, the reader becomes equally torn from trying to balance the ugly politicking, protecting your family, managing the media, trusting the judicial system, alienating friends, honoring yourself and of course, undoubtedly, hurting your mother, sister and brother.
This was a short, well-written, page-turner that reminded me of a young Jodi Picoult. Great summer read!
Quotes I liked:
We had the best and worst kind of childhood, parents who paid no attention to us.”
-“We had to act to save us before there was no us left.”
-“Two birds are killed with one stone, but the end result is dead birds.”
-“You’re not even here when you’re here.”
-“People will do whatever they can to keep their illusions intact. Then they justify it with a philosophy.
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