The Visibles: A Novel

By: Sara Shepard

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Synopsis: THE VISIBLES by Sara Shepard follows about 15 formative years in the life of one Summer Davis, who after the disappearance of her mother learns to deal with the subsequent decline into mental illness of her father, who himself eventually endures electro-shock therapy. Several incredibly well drawn characters enter and leave the storyline, including a childhood friend, Claire, whose own absence makes as much of an impression on Summer as her presence, and a great-aunt, Stella, who personifies with immense charm the best as well as the most terrifying aspects of Summer's father's hillbilly upbringing. Summer has an interest in science that she inherits from her father and goes into genetics--leading her to question what else of her parents she might have inherited, and whether real happiness is something she can ever achieve. It's a book about dealing with loss and living in the past, how what happens to you as a kid never really leaves you, and no matter how old you get you can learn to live and change and recover (the ending is surprisingly happy). Also that life, unlike the code in our DNA, is not predetermined or manipulable, but must be accepted and adapted to, rather than controlled.