I think there was just too much in this book: autism, racism, homosexuality, cancer, infidelity, Mormonism, adoption, coming of age issues, surrogacy, epilepsy, drugs, suicide. None of it fleshed out properly, and the book jumping all over the place. There was so much going on that none of the characters were fully developed, and I didn't care what happened to any of them. For that matter, I didn't care if I finished the book. . . but I did. This novel centers around the various residents of small town Eula, Idaho. Many, if not most, of them lead sad, desperate lives. There are a lot of different storylines going on here touching upon a lot of different themes: poverty, race, class, drugs, religion, family, sexuality, infidelity, infertility... One of the challenges for me was keeping all the characters straight. This is a book where the more I read, the more I liked it. Probably my greatest disappointment was with the ending. For this reason, I'd actually give it 3.5 stars. The author had so many balls in the air, it was sure to be a challenge to bring it all to a satisfying conclusion. Still I enjoyed it.
What do You think about Lake Overturn (2009)?
Hard to put in a category. Story is good but a bit over-the-top with fuzzy characters and ending.
—DarvaisSh