No Sensible People by Gretchen Bourquin: A...

It's hard for me to believe that No Sensible People is a first novel. The story is so true and believable from the very first page that it seems it should be the work of a seasoned veteran.

Not only that, but this novel is written from the viewpoints of three different characters who write various chapters, beginning with nine-year-old Jennie, but also told by her Aunt Lucy and her best friend, a man in his mid-twenties who has been like another parent to her and whose name is Denny, but who she calls Taffy. And every single one of the voices sounds distinct and true, an amazing feat.

A tragic event that occurred before Jennie was born has set a disastrous series of events in motion, and as the book begins another tragic event, the accidental death of Jennie's father, begins another chain that will bring great changes to the lives of our three main characters. Jennie's mother, already on the borderline of sanity, tips over at the death of her husband and kills herself, and Jennie is forced to go live with her Aunt Lucy, who she's never met before.

Lucy has her own dark secrets and a marraige that is on the verge of falling apart, but she is determined to do her best for Jennie. And Taffy is also very much involved in Jennie's life. But the past between Aunt Luciy and Taffy keeps interfering with the present and unless secrets are revealed and closure granted, no one is going to be able to find any stability.

Ms. Bourquin paints a picture of damaged but smart, decent, loving people all trying to make everything all work out, and makes you care about these people intensely. Jennie, Lucy, Taffy, and even Aunt Lucy's husband Frank, Taffy's sister Susie, and Frank's gay brother, Stuart, are all fully defined characters that I will remember for a long time.

I can't recommend No Sensible People highly enough. You will not be disappointed in this sensitive and deeply moving story. I hope to have the opportunity to read much more of Gretchen's work in the future.