Gossip by Beth Gutcheon

Title: Gossip
Author: Beth Gutcheon
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Acquired: Received free for an honest review
Age Group: Adult
Grade: 84% or B

Buy It: Amazon

Outspoken and brimming with confidence, Dinah made a name for herself as a columnist covering the doings of New York's wealthiest and most fabulous. Shy, proper Avis, in many ways Dinah's opposite, rose to prominence in the art world with her quiet manners, hard work, and precise judgment. Despite the deep affection they both feel for Lovie, they have been more or less allergic to each other since a minor incident decades earlier that has been remembered and resented with what will prove to be unimaginable consequences.

These uneasy acquaintances become unwillingly bound to each other when Dinah's favorite son and Avis's only daughter fall in love and marry. On the surface, Nick and Grace are the perfect match—a playful, romantic, buoyant, and beautiful pair. But their commitment will be strained by time and change: career setbacks, reckless choices, the birth of a child, jealousies, and rumor. At the center of their orbit is Lovie, who knows everyone's secrets and manages them as wisely as she can. Which is not wisely enough, as things turn out—a fact that will have a shattering effect on all their lives.

My Thoughts::
I usually don't pick up books that are attended for adults. Sure, I'm technically an adult, but I still feel like I identify more with the under 18 crowd, which is why I favor books featuring characters in that age group. Still, the idea captured my interest, and there would be some characters who were younger. Besides, isn't my age group the one who is know for their gossip?

I've been reading and seeing more and more books like this around recently, and so far I like it. A book that spans longer than a summer or a year. The idea doesn't sound that smart, but when executed like it is in this book, it's amazing. The character growth feels more real than I've read in a while. How could it not when you watch a character grow from their teen years into old age? Watching them go through many life experiences? It was also cool to get a glimpse at how life was at different time periods and how they reacted to huge events like 9/11.

Now don't even begin to think that this book wasn't exciting. Our main character is entangled in a web of lies and secrets. The entire time you're on age wondering when things are going to erupt. The surprise near the end was crazy amazing. I did not see it coming at all! It made the book's message about gossip that much more powerful. Right when you thought you knew where the book was heading, WHAM, it hits you over the head with the ending.

Overall I think that Gossip was an intriguing Adult novel that at times seemed like a young adult novel since it starts with the characters at boarding school, and then of course again when some children are born. I was impressed at how it moved from one section to the next without making me feel frustrated at the time jump.