What do You think about Crossroads (2008)?
Gwen Wright, daughter of wealthy entrepreneur, Cassandra Wright, is introverted and holding a secret. Her chance meeting with Jewel Fairchild, beautiful,confident and making a meager living, kicks off a life-long feud that dramatically changes their lives both good and bad. I listened to the audiobook and at first thought this story was based in the early 19th century and later realized that it was a contemporary novel. It is interesting how this book could actually be interpreted in another time. I enjoyed this refreshing novel which didn't contain all the sex, drugs and violence that many contemporary books do.
—Sharon
READER WARNING: CROSSROADS by Belva Plain has also been published as RED LEAVES. The only differences being that the mother in Red Leaves is called Jean instead of Cassandra and Gwen's name is spelled Guin in Red Leaves. That being said, let me get on to the review. Similar in some ways to her earlier works Eden Burning, Random Winds and Evergreen but lacking in the skillfully balanced bittersweet insights and heartwarming truths that beguiled her readers and brought her a legion of devoted fans, this offering tells of relationships between mothers & daughters, husbands and wives and takes the reader into the world of dirty dealings, family secrets, nasty gossip while addressing the "grass is always greener in someone else's yard" variety of jealousy. Like Bernie Madoff, Tiger Woods and the Real Housewives of New York City the characters inhabiting the pages of CROSSINGS could just as easily occupy space on Page Six of the New York Post or appear as the "flavor of the week" in The National Inquirer. In short this book is more soap opera than literary masterpiece, and while it does do a passable job of whetting your appetite for the more provocative aspects of human nature it is definitely not of the caliber we have come to expect from Belva Plain.
—Sandie
As you are reading this book – you might be reminded of your favorite soap opera on TV because it reads something like a soap opera. There is a rich girl and a poor girl – the poor girl marries for money and the rich girl marries for love; and the lives of the two girls intertwine for years with loads of jealousy, betrayal, family secrets, nasty gossip, and dirty dealings. But with that beginning, let me say that it was as easy read and the anticipation of what might happen next kept me interested in reading. Although there is nothing deep or meaningful about this book, it did keep me interested in finding out how each of the characters would act as they each reach a Crossroad in their lives and have to make a decision on which path to take. I looked at other reviewers and many people thought the book was too predictable – I guess it was, but for filling up time while you sit waiting to see a Dr. or something similar, it filled the bill.
—Virginia Myers
