"Fantastic journey toward dealing with life's decisions."

India leaves a successful career as a Web designer to head home after her father dies and take care of her flaky mother, Eldora. She's always had a tough relationship with her mom, and the enforced togetherness during this time of grieving -- along with being away from her sexy boyfriend Jack and worrying about her business -- stress this independent woman.

Eldora is determined to take a road trip back to the city that had such a phenomenal impact on her life: Las Vegas. India adamantly says she's not going to drive her mother -- then finally allows herself to be swayed. Not hoping for anything but an end to the trip, India never expects to see a side of her mother that will change their relationship forever.

Along the way, the two women plan to look for India's brilliant artist twin sister, Gypsy, who also is schizophrenic. She tends to disappear when she goes off her medication and Eldora and India are worried.

This road trip is about understanding each other and reaching out, even when sometimes the very act of reaching goes against what you're feeling. India has been pushing away her mother for so long that she finds it overwhelming to share her secret -- and Eldora is hiding a past that will finally allow India to see her from a woman's viewpoint, and not that of a child.

This was a fantastic book! India, Eldora and Gypsy are accurately named because Ms. Samuel paints them in brilliant colors, making them as unique as their names. Eldora and India are on a journey -- but it's not just a trip that's eating up the miles on Route 66. It's a journey toward understanding the many decisions that lead us on life's paths. You'll love Eldora, and also the prickly India. Thank you, Ms. Samuel, for another book that reminds us that there are hidden pieces in every life.

Reviewed by Morgan Chilson
Posted January 14, 2005