Catching an excellent book: I planned on reading Catching Genius over a few weeks but ended up finishing it within just a few days. It's a beautifully crafted book with memorable (and realistic characters) whom you can't help but love despite their flaws. The story moves at the perfect pace and will keep you flipping pages, saying "just one more," until you've finished the book...and are left anxiously awaiting the time when Kristy Kiernan's next book is available.

There is a sweetness to this author's voice. Kristy Kiernan succeeds in writing a book that is as much about personal relationships as it is about the power of place. I found myself longing to move into the beach house on Big Dune Island myself. I enjoyed reading it more for its ability to transport me than for its outstanding characters and themes. The author touches on many topics related to family dynamics, sisters, secrets, betrayal, divorce, and inherited charatceristics of genius. The novel itself would translate well into a made for television movie. Having lived in Southwest Florida I was thrown off by the fictionalized names she chose...Verona for Naples. I felt like there were some similarities in possibility to a Pat Conroy novel, but had the feeling that the author was not comfortable enough exploring the darker side of human emotions to take it to that place of significance. Still, an enjoyable read, especially a beach read.

This is the second book I have read that was written by Kristy Kiernan. I love finding new authors to read and I am so glad a friend recommended her to me. Catching Genius is a complex story about relationships. The main characters, Connie and Estella are sisters who don't have much of a relationship at all. When the girls were young, Estella was labeled as a math genius. She is sent off to college at age 12. The girls, who were once very close, drifted apart. Now adults, they are forced to close up their mother's beach house before she sells it which makes them both very uncomfortable. They not only have issues with each other but both sisters are dealing with other problems in their lives. The story is told from the viewpoint of both sisters, dealing with their relationship now as well as their past. There are two sides to every story and that is very clear in this book. I look forward to reading more from Kristy. ( )

In Catching Genius by Kristy Kiernan, two sisters have to learn how to overcome their past in order to be a family again. As young girls, Connie and Estella lived a privileged life and always got along. This ends one day when Estella is tested and the family learns she is a genius with an IQ of 140. Estella always had a fascination with numbers and is labeled a math genius. From that point on, all the family attention, mainly that of the father's, is focused on Estelle, who goes off to college at the age of 12. Connie begins harboring a bitter resentment that lasts throughout her adult years.

By their early 40's, the sisters have not spoken to each other in 8 years. Their mother then calls each of them to let them know she will be selling the beach house. (Their father is long deceased). Connie and Estella reluctantly agree to help pack up the house. Meanwhile, Connie deals with the falling apart of her marriage, the difficulty of raising two boys, and another event that brings back the emotions and resentments she has always felt towards Estella. And Estella has things she needs to let Connie know about her past and things that affect her now. The sisters have to learn to become family again while at the beach house, as well as learn more about their mother and the reality of their pasts.

This book was Kiernan's first, but was the second one I read. I'm glad I read them in that order because I have more faith in this author, as I loved her second book. This average novel had the potential to be an intense portrait of family, misunderstandings, and an interesting look into math and musical genius. Unfortunately, while it touched on a variety of topics, there was a lack of depth in each making the book seem too full of insignificant happenings. The main character, Connie, came off as whiny and the whole book was melodramatic. It wasn't very clear, or at least very realistic, for the sisters to have an 8 year gap in communication or for Connie to feel as resentful as she did. There were also many chapters that dragged on without moving forward in the plot. This book would have been better if it were maybe 100 pages shorter and focused more on a couple topics rather than throwing in so many various sub plots. However, don't let this deter you... I have read her second book, Matters of Faith, which was WONDERFUL and am looking forward to her new book in 2010. ( )

http://amiralace.blogspot.com/2008/07/catching-genius.html ( )