This is part of the Bittersweet Book Launch case study, where Dan Blank and Miranda Beverly-Whittemore share the yearlong process of launching her novel. You can view all posts here.
By Miranda Beverly-Whittemore
“Out of place at her elite East Coast college, Mabel Dagmar falls into an unlikely friendship with her blueblooded roommate, Genevra “Ev” Winslow, and is invited to spend the summer at Ev’s family estate in Vermont. Jumping at the chance to escape her working-class family in Oregon, Mabel enters the world of madras shorts and cocktails on the veranda. The enchantment of a lakeside retreat, steeped in tradition, sweeps Mabel (who now goes by May) off her feet, as does Ev’s older brother, Galway. But May has secrets, as do the Winslows, and as May unravels the family’s litany of misdeeds, she puts herself in serious danger. Beverly-Whittemore’s novel is suspenseful and intriguing, filled with characters who both fit the blue-blood mold and break the stereotypes we all associate with the upper class. Her short chapters, with their cliff-hanger endings, will keep readers turning pages late into the night.” – March 15, 2014
I love that this review mentions that Bittersweet breaks “the stereotypes we all associate with the upper class.” I thought it did that, but it’s so refreshing that it wasn’t just inside my head! And of course I love the implication that it’s a page-turner. I always wanted it to be that. Yay!