Relative Strangers [Hardcover]

Jean Ferris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1993

Berkeley is willing to give her long-estranged father another chance, but when he offers to take her on a tour of Europe, a host of unpleasant surprises awaits her on the Continent. By the author of Across the Grain.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Berkeley, who lives with her mother in San Diego, has had little contact with her father except for a few awkward visits and for the inappropriate birthday gifts he has sent through the mail, even though he lives in Los Angeles. His invitation to join him for a two-week vacation in Europe therefore comes as a surprise. Even more startlingly, the estranged father shows up at the international airport with his new wife and sullen, teenage step-daughter in tow. During the trip (which is spiced by a couple of rendezvous with the heroine's new boyfriend, Spike), Berkeley discovers the virtues and frailties of the man who ran from responsibility 17 years ago, and she also comes to understand the reason for her stepsister's loneliness. Travel bugs will savor scenes set in districts of London and Paris that are both romantic and historically significant. Conversations and concerns are realistically portrayed, and Berkeley's final analysis of her newly acquired second family is convincingly mixed. All in all, this book by the author of Across the Grain is quietly compelling. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-10. The child of teen parents who separated before her birth, Berkeley only knows her father from infrequent calls and inappropriate birthday gifts. Now her father is determined to change their relationship, and as a high-school graduation gift, he invites her on a business trip to Europe. Anxious to get to know her emotionally distant father, Berkeley is shocked to discover he has brought along--on her trip--his new wife, Lily, and stepdaughter, Shelby. Antagonistic over her mother's remarriage, Shelby is prepared to make Berkeley's idealized reunion with her father a disaster. Berkeley soon realizes her father's good looks and charm disguise a controlling nature and an indifference to her needs, particularly when her new boyfriend's travel plans coincide with theirs. Struggling to make sense of their jumbled relationship, Berkeley must decide to accept her father as less than the ideal portrait she has painted or face further resentment and discontent over what might have been. Readers will easily relate to Berkeley's dilemma and cheer her realistic decision in an appealing story with strong characterization. Mary Romano Marks

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 229 pages
• Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux (J); 1st edition (August 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374362432
• ISBN-13: 978-0374362430
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,680,274 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BOOK!, April 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Relative Strangers (Hardcover)

I first picked up this book and decided to read it by judging it's cover. I saw a picture of Paris, and since I liked European travel, I decided to check it out. It's a great story with believable characters, and you can actually feel what the main character is feeling. You get great descriptions, along with suprises along the way, and you actually feel like you are along on the trip with Berkely. It's filled with drama , action, and romance, and overall is an excellent book. (I've read it like, 18 times, and never get tired!)