{Review} Reel Life by Jackie Townsend

ISBN #: 978-0983791508

Page Count: 380

Copyright: February 22, 2012

Publisher: Ripetta Press

Description:

(Taken from back cover)

Sisters are meant to always be there for each other, or are they? In the glare of reality, clashing views and acts of betrayal can work to form unbridgeable gaps, and the fabric of sisterly love must be delicately rewoven from whole cloth.

Reel Life charts the story of redheaded sisters Betty and Jamie, who must call upon the past to forge a new and meaningful connection for the future. With iconic moments of contemporary cinema driving the narrative thread, this absorbing work will cut straight to the heart and reveal the intricate, complex emotions that come together to form a family. Exploring themes of motherhood, body image, ambition and love, this tender, deeply affecting tale of two sisters offers a poignant close-up of this most intimate of relationships, which can both haunt and heal.

Surging with drama that is interlaced with subtle irony, Reel Life illuminates how, sometimes, escaping reality can be the clearest path to emotional truth.

Charlene's Review:

The product of a less than ideal home, Betty and Jamie grew up learning how to NOT deal with issues. The ideal escape: a movie theater. With a mother who is depressed and self-absorbed, and a therapist father who withdraws after their marriage fails, the girls think they should have a special bond. The reality is, even without the ability to communicate, their shared lives still hold them in a fragile bond that neither one can break, no matter how hard they try. And try, they do.

Following them through the years, through jobs and relationships, to kids and dealing with their parents as adults, Betty and Jamie come together, often at the cinema. Each chapter focuses on a time period in their lives, and relates it to a movie from that time. This is a very complex story, dealing with a lot of intimate issues. The ending was a bit disappointing to me, but as a whole, it was an engaging story.


*A physical copy of the book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.