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After the death of her foster mother, Chris McMann%E2%80%94known as Judy Viereck in her childhood%E2%80%94begins to search for the mother she lost when she was kidnapped by her abusive father as a young child, in Widgery%E2%80%99s latest. Alternating between Chris%E2%80%99s present search for her family and reminiscences about her troubled childhood, the book%E2%80%99s tone shifts awkwardly between the stark and the melodramatic. Additionally, the relationship that adult Chris%E2%80%94who fails to grow emotionally throughout the novel%E2%80%94begins with Jim Hochstedder is stilted, forced, and develops far too quickly, given that Chris, in the name of self-preservation, has always eschewed intimacy. Widgery makes a show of dealing with childhood trauma and sexual abuse without truly investigating the depth or intricacies of either.