Commuters by Emily Gray Tedrowe

Winnie McClelland and Jerry Trevis’s families aren’t particularly happy when they marry in their 70s. Jerry’s daughter in particular feels that she is being abandoned – or that her family’s fortune is going to abandon her, she doesn’t seem to have fully admitted to herself what her motivations are. This, of course, makes things slightly awkward for her son Avery who ends up between Annette and Jerry. The tension with Annette doesn’t just affect Jerry’s side of the family, though, but Winnie’s family too. And, really, Winnie’s daughter Rachel has enough drama going on in her life already. Her husband had a debilitating accident that left him unable to work full time, putting a huge strain on the family’s finances and their marriage.

This was an admirable debut novel. Tedrowe had three narrators of varying ages, genders, and circumstances: Avery, Rachel, and Winnie. The three of them were not even related by blood, although they did all have a connection through Jerry. Tedrowe was able to keep the three narrators distinct and yet interwoven. All of the characters were well-written and realistic, as well as relate-able.

Although the novel was well-written and well-crafted, something about it failed to absolutely wow me. It may have just been me, since I really can’t place my finger on it, but it just didn’t grab me in the way I was hoping it would. It was a character-driven novel, rather than a plot-driven novel and I was interested in the characters, but I didn’t love them enough to get completely caught up in their lives.

I liked this well enough that I will be on the lookout for Tedrowe’s next book and I would recommend this to people looking for a well-written, character-driven novel, but it isn’t my favorite thing I read this year.

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

I read this book as part of a TLC Book Tour. Check out some of the other tour hosts for more reviews. Links go to the host’s site, not to their specific review.