| Stephen Marsh knew that he was going to marry Melanie (an American student in London) from the first moment they met. Despite her discomfort with some of her new in-laws, the first four years of marriage are happy and peaceful for Melanie. The story jumps forward to their fourth year of marriage from their engagement and Melanie has discovered that something is wrong with her two-year-old son Daniel. He is not talking, is very possessive about his toy train and is prone to sudden screaming fits. Stephen on the other hand, seems rather relaxed until Daniel is diagnosed with autism.
Blaming Melanie for this misfortune, he leaves her for his old girlfriend Penelope, refusing to help Melanie financially. She desperately tries to help her son and is determined that he should start talking, and turns to Andy O'Connell, an underqualified child therapist, who teaches him to speak through play. Despite being forever short of money and suffering the disapproval of her mother-in-law, life takes a turn for the better, and little Daniel is soon talking and playing with his sister. Andy falls for Melanie whilst helping Daniel, but she does not realise this until after the funeral of her father-in-law, and soon has to choose between her husband and Andy. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of book? - upbeat Time/era of story - 2000+ (Present Day) Romance/Romance Problems Yes Kind of romance: Family, caring for ill Yes Who is sick? - Son because he/she is - mentally ill Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Pregnancy/Child rearing Yes Major part of story: Married, fooling around? Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Nationality Main Adversary Identity: - none Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 4 () Europe Yes European country: - England/UK Writing Style Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript |
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