Catching Genius [Bargain Price] [Paperback]

Kristy Kiernan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 6, 2007

As children, Connie and Estella were best friends-until Estella was discovered to be a math prodigy, which led to the sisters' estrangement. Now, years later, they are forced to reunite on the Gulf Coast of Florida as they pack up their childhood home and ready it for sale. The reunion comes at a time when both Connie and Estella must come to terms with painful revelations and devastating consequences in their own lives. And once again, her sister's genius may alter Connie's life in ways she cannot control.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Kiernan tests the bonds of sisterhood and goes to the well of family secrets and stunted connections in her easy-reading if maudlin debut. Sisters Estella and Connie grew apart early-Estella, a genius, began college at 12 and was the apple of their father's eye, while the younger Connie was blessed with good looks and a charming personality. Now in their 40s and after eight years of not speaking, the sisters are forced together to pack up their childhood home in Florida as their mother prepares to sell it. There are amends to be made and old wounds to be opened, and Kiernan handles the melodramatic moments with a light touch, though her prose can wander into purple territory ("It was as if we were both sunburned, flinching and shrieking at every touch, real or imagined"). Chapters that alternate between the sisters' perspectives reveal the miscommunication between them, and though Connie's self-deprecating humor keeps the novel from becoming too heavy, the climax is overdone and drawn-out. Still, it is a moving novel about forgiveness and the fragility of family.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From Booklist

Kiernan's debut novel tells the story of two all-but-estranged sisters, Estella and Connie, who grew apart after Estella was discovered to be a math prodigy at the age of seven. Now in their forties, the sisters come together to clean out their childhood home on the island of Big Dune. Connie, a married mother of two boys, has finally grown tired of her husband Luke's constant infidelity and is contemplating ending their marriage. Estella tutors college students in math and boards several of them in the house she shares with her boyfriend, Paul. Neither sister is looking forward to the task at hand, and when they arrive, they find things are just as strained between them as they feared they would be. Gradually they start opening up to each other, but as the rest of the family joins them on the island, Estella realizes that she has to make a confession that could end their newfound friendship. A warm, moving novel about the power of familial bonds. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (March 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425214354
• ASIN: B0017U1ITE
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #435,797 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kristy was born in Tennessee and raised on the beaches of southwest Florida. She developed a love of reading as a child, devouring Nancy Drews and Trixie Beldens at a disconcerting clip, and graduating to whatever anyone left lying around when she ran out of girl detective stories.

She knew she wanted to be a writer at a young age, and her first novel, Catching Genius, was published in 2007 and went on to become a word-of-mouth hit with reading groups.

Her second, Matters of Faith, was an IndieNext Notable Selection and won a bronze medal in the Florida Book Awards, and her third, Between Friends, was released in 2010.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars poignant look at changing relationship, March 8, 2007

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Catching Genius (Paperback)

Raised in affluence in Florida, Estella and Connie Sykes may be sisters, but are also best friends. That is until Estella, two years older than Connie, catches the dreaded "eyecue", whatever that is. Fearing for her beloved normal sibling, Estella drifts away from Connie, hurting her sister who does not understand why. Estella is a math prodigy while Connie is a norm.

Now years later, the two sisters still not close, return to their Gulf Coast home to help their mom sell the family house. As they work on what to toss, what to give away, what to sell, and what to keep, their past as precocious partners and the subsequent split when they were seven and five respectively surfaces forcing both especially the elder to reveal family truths.

Alternating perspective, CATCHING GENIUS is a delightful look at how childhood relationships make the adults. Out of innocence and a real concern for her younger sister, Estella finds the road to hell paved with her good intentions. Though the Connie sections seem more insightful as the audience feels her decades old still lingering hurt while not quite understanding how Estella coped over the years, readers will appreciate Kristy Kiernan's poignant look at the changing relationship between two sisters.

Harriet Klausner

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Started off a little slow (for me) and picked up nicely., March 26, 2008

By 

MrsYkr (NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Catching Genius (Paperback)

First off, one of the bad reviews had some incorrect information and apparently the reviewer did not read through to the end. I don't typically write reviews (more a fan of listmania) but I enjoyed this book quite a bit and was sad to finish it. It's about Connie and Estella, two sisters who were close in their childhood but then are separated by a parent who is clearly consumed by one child's "giftedness". The story unfolds with the perfect amount of information and drama to keep one wanting more. The author wrote a solid, believable story, she certainly did her research.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Book!!, January 6, 2008

By 

C. Schaefer (Stafford Springs, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Catching Genius (Paperback)

Okay - I'll admit - I read the reviews and thought, "Oh, no - another "sister" book - filled with anger, guilt, recriminations, angst and reconciliation. I decided not to read it. But, luckily someone recommended it to me, and since I didn't have anything else to read, I read it. This book was so good that I couldn't bear to put it down. And it's by a new author so I can look forward to more books from her! I'm recommending Catching Genius to everyone I know.