Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Summer Zwolenick, the narrator of Kittle's debut novel, is a 26-year-old Ohio schoolteacher who has just enough charismatic mettle and emotional depth to keep the book from falling into the niche of sentimentalized stories in which an angelic young man with AIDS provides meaning and hope to his grieving and equally angelic family. Once a rising ballet star, Summer suffered an injury three years ago and now teaches high school near her suburban Dayton hometown, where she has relocated to be close to her beloved brother Todd, who is slowly dying of AIDS. Her love for her gay sibling is the only thing Summer is sure about, since she resents her mother, is ambivalent about her job and is frightened to take the plunge into marriage with her lover, Nicholas. Todd was a successful soundman in L.A.'s film industry and has come home to die near his parent's horse farm, with his handsome actor boyfriend, Jacob, at his side. Jacob is unfailingly supportive, as is Todd's live-in nurse, Arnicia. These and other characters are sketchily drawn, vehicles only for an assortment of social issues: a sister, Abby, is a battered wife; Arnicia is an African-American who spouts sassy, irreverent wisdom; Grandma Ann spent time in a concentration camp during WWII; Summer has problems at school with a gay youth and a homophobic troublemaker. Still, Summer's character is fully rounded, and part of her indecision about Nick stems from her idealization of the love between Todd and Jacob, who "had something better than I had ever known. And I wanted it more than anything." With Summer's story as the centerpiece, the book is absorbing and readable. In the end, her love for her brother moves the tale beyond cliche. Agent, Liz Trupin-Pulli. 7-city author tour. (Apr.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|
Library Journal
The characters in this uneven first novel from Ohio writer Kittle are laden with superficial traits and not developed into complex, multilayered individuals with real motivations. Summer, an ex-ballet dancer whose career was cut short by a riding accident, is now a high school teacher. Her brother Todd, a former movie technician and world traveler, is dying of AIDS and (we are constantly told) has a magnetic personality. Also caring for Todd are his lover, Jacob, a gorgeous soap-opera star; and Arnicia, a beautiful African American nursing student. Meanwhile, Todd and Summer's older sister is battered by her rich physician husband. Summer feels pressured to marry her handsome boyfriend, Nicholas, even though it seems obvious to the reader that given Todd's imminent death, it's a bad time. The only real character of substance is Todd's disease: Kittle's narrative skill shines through as she describes how AIDS destroys his vitality and comes to dominate the household of caregivers with its presence. The detailed depictions of some homosexual encounters and Todd's deteriorating medical condition contrast starkly with the ensemble of shallowly developed characters. For larger fiction collections.--Reba Leiding, James Madison Univ. Lib., Harrisonburg, VA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\
