ASK AGAIN LATER
Jill A. Davis
Ecco
Fiction
ISBN-10: 0060875968
ISBN-13: 9780060875961

Remember when you were a child and you could trust your most difficult questions to the wisdom of the Magic 8-Ball? The protagonist of Jill A. Davis's second novel frequently echoes the refrain of that childhood oracle. Whenever thirty-something Emily Rhode is queried by friends on how she is doing, her familiar refrain is that of the Magic 8-Ball: "Ask again later."

It's easy to see why this is the case. Emily is a harried corporate attorney who has managed to tiptoe through the minefield of her life, careful to avoid any major skirmishes or hard decisions. She's currently skirting along the edges of a romance with a divorced co-worker as she goes about her hectic job. But when she learns that her mother has breast cancer, her whole tentative world is turned upside down.

Emily has grown up in a not-so-unusually dysfunctional family in New York City. Her dad left the family when she and her sister were just children, and he's been like a phantom ever since --- someone she never really knew. Emily's mother, a woman with a penchant for dramatics, responds to her stage 1 cancer diagnosis by calling everyone in her address book to tell them she's going to die.

Over-dramatized or not, the news of her mother's illness shakes Emily to her core. And since her socialite sister is of little help as she struggles to fit her new baby into her overly crowded social schedule, Emily quits her high-pressure law job, flees from her potential love interest and moves back in with her mother to care for her during treatment.

A strange byproduct of her mother's illness is her renewed relationship with her distant father. In an effort to help out during this difficult time, Emily's dad offers her a nice, low-pressure job as the receptionist in his office. Slowly she begins to learn about this mercurial man she calls her father. But as soon as her mother starts to recover, she is hit with an unexpected loss that forces her to face her fears and fully participate in her own life.

Davis, author of GIRLS' POKER NIGHT and a former writer for "The Late Show with David Letterman," tackles real-life issues and infuses these rather somber moments with requisite levity and humor. Emily is a relatable woman, paralyzed at the prospect of taking chances and making choices. She has drifted through life by avoiding taking risks, but when a life-altering event occurs, Emily learns to confront and later embrace the life she has long been avoiding. As she observes, "Eventually the training wheels have to come off and it's always a surprise when you find that you don't need them."

ASK AGAIN LATER is about growing up, reconciling your past and looking towards the future with anticipation and a much-needed sense of humor.

   --- Reviewed by Bronwyn Miller

Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.com.

© Copyright 1996-2008, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.

Back to top.