Deep Down True: A Novel [Paperback]

Juliette Fay (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 25, 2011

From the author of Shelter Me--a funny and poignant novel about having your heart in the right place.

Newly divorced Dana Stellgarten has always been unfailingly nice- even to telemarketers-but now her temper is wearing thin. Money is tight, her kids are reeling from their dad's departure, and her Goth teenage niece has just landed on her doorstep. As she enters the slipstream of post-divorce romance and is befriended by the town queen bee, Dana finds that the tension between being true to yourself and being liked doesn't end in middle school... and that sometimes it takes a real friend to help you embrace adulthood in all its flawed complexity.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

It�s been more than a year since Dana Stellgarten�s divorce, and things are getting tough. Her 7-year-old, Grady, is struggling with the absence of his father and becoming moody and morose. She discovers that her 12-year-old, Morgan, is bulimic and succumbing to pressure from her popular friends. Her 16-year-old niece, Alder, literally crashes into their lives and begs Dana to take her in for several months. Alder no longer seems to be the happy, well-rounded girl she used to be. To top it all off, Dana�s well-to-do ex-husband is suddenly struggling with his child-care payments. This is a wonderful tale of family and growing up, whether as a child, a teenager, or a middle-aged mother. Dana gains unlikely friends at her dentist�s office, loses longtime allies, and even begins to date again. Dana, who is at times nice to a fault, learns that single motherhood requires both love and a sharp edge of responsibility. Heartwarming, funny, well-penned, unexpectedly suspenseful, this is a solid page-turner, right through to the touching end. --Julie Hunt

Review

"Sincere, powerful and heartfelt, Deep Down True will resonate with women everywhere . . . I loved Fay's true-to-life characters and her ability to portray the intricate dynamics of friendship and family in such an immediately recognizable way. There is a 'me too' moment on every page, right down to the satisfying finish."
—Emily Giffin, New York Times bestselling author of Where We Belong

"When I wasn't inside the world of this book-because this is a book that you enter instead of merely read-I longed to be. I love it for its intensely human characters and for the way the author grants them their flaws as generously as she celebrates their daily decencies, their persistent hopefulness, their moments of personal grace."
—Marisa de los Santos, New York Times bestselling author of Falling Together and Love Walked In

"Enormously readable and hugely relatable!"
—Kelly Corrigan, New York Times bestselling author of The Middle Place

"Engrossing, touching, and immensely satisfying. The truth shines on every page. I'd almost be willing to go back to junior high if I could sit at Juliette Fay's lunch table!"
—Beth Harbison, New York Times bestselling author of When in Doubt, Add Butter and Thin, Rich, Pretty

"Fay deals honestly with Dana's emotional journey as she strives 'to understand how what had been true before had changed into what was true now' and gives readers a believable cast, from the daughter struggling with the wolf-pack mentality of middle school to Dana's sometimes obnoxious yet fiercely loving sister. It expertly walks a heavily trodden path."
—Publishers Weekly

"Fay imbues Dana with the smarts and insecurities that war within most of us. With her comfort zone obliterated, Dana draws on her inner strengths to reconstruct a new foundation for her children in a world where she gets to be the alpha wolf. Highly recommended for fans of women's fiction featuring resilient heroines."
—Library Journal

"Heartwarming, funny, well-penned . . . a solid page-turner, right through to the touching end."
—Booklist

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books; Original edition (January 25, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014311851X
• ISBN-13: 978-0143118510
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #45 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Women's Fiction > Divorce

More About the Author

Juliette Fay's latest novel, THE SHORTEST WAY HOME, was chosen as one of Library Journal's Top 5 "Best Books of 2012: Women's Fiction." Juliette's first novel, SHELTER ME, was a 2009 Massachusetts Book Award "Must-Read Book," a Target Bookmark Club selection, and on the American Booksellers Association's Indie Next list. Her second, DEEP DOWN TRUE, was short-listed for the Women's Fiction award by the American Library Association.

Juliette received a bachelor's degree from Boston College and a master's degree from Harvard University. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and four children. When she's not trying to keep track of her kids or daydreaming about her next story, Juliette can be reached on her website, www.juliettefay.com; on Facebook at Juliette Fay, author; and on Twitter @juliettefay.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 55 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A man in his 70s January 25, 2011

By Old book lover

Format:Paperback

As a male elder, I seldom am able to enjoy "chick lit." When my wife suggested that Fay's book was definitely not in that category, I decided to give it a try. Almost immediately I find myself drawn into Dana's world. It brought back such strong memories of my own junior high days. Even more valuable, I felt it gave me insights into how that time in life feels for girls and women. Sure, it's funny, but this book also has a wisdom about it that I found deeply appealing. If one of your goals in reading serious fiction is a deeper understanding of the human condition, this book is definitely for you -- no matter what your gender!

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Story-Must Read! January 27, 2011

By Book Lover

Format:Paperback

It has been a long time since I read a book I didn't want to put down and didn't want to end! Juliette draws the reader into her characters' world from the first page. She creates characters so real, warm, wonderful and flawed that you are sure they must truly exist. This story made me laugh, cry, sympathize, question and think-what more can you ask from a book?

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A deep down good read January 30, 2011

By Albany Reader

Format:Paperback

Juliette Fay proves that Shelter Me wasn't a one-off success. Even more so in Deep Down True, Fay weaves the funny-worrisome-mundane-painful-sustaining-tragic-frustrating- small victory ingredients of everyday life into a story that avoids melodrama by evoking the same wide range of deep down true emotions that run through all of our lives. She does this with a keen sense of humor, spot-on dialogue, and by creating characters you want to know more about. ( I'm still wondering how Cormac from Shelter Me is faring. In Deep Down True, I'm rooting for Alder, Dana's big-hearted niece who is trying to figure out which end is up as she moves from adolescence into adulthood.)