Review: Joy: A Novel

Joy: A Novel by Danielle Steel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"JOY" is certainly a misnomer for this book. Even when you thought it might have a happily-ever-after ending, it really doesn't. There was just the barest hint of happiness at the end.

I was pulled in right from the start, and although I never cry while reading a sad book, however, I came close right from the very first section of the first chapter.

The rest of the book went downhill for me. No matter how much I hoped Allegra would find a bit of happiness, she didn't until I thought I could stand no more!

It took me a long time to get through this soul-wrenching novel, and that is unusual for me. I just couldn't take this book in big gulps; I had to take it with tiny little sips.



SYNOPSIS :  "When she is only six years old, Allegra Dixon’s party-loving mother leaves without so much as a goodbye. Her father, an emotionally distant military officer, is also unable—or unwilling—to care for her. Sent to live like a ghost in her grandparents’ joyless home, Allegra finds her only solace through an escape into books.

Attending boarding school, life finally takes a turn when she meets a dashing young West Point cadet named Shep Williams. Soon their friendship blossoms into something more, and they fall deeply in love.

After college, Allegra has established herself as a book editor and Shep is rising through the ranks of the military. But then Shep suddenly receives a posting to Afghanistan, and they decide to marry before he goes. Between his deployments, they cling to their brief and fraught stolen moments together. Each time he leaves, Shep promises the separations will soon come to an end.

But soon Allegra realizes that the horrors of war have begun to change her husband into a man she no longer recognizes. The trauma he has experienced proves to be too harrowing, and Allegra will find herself feeling utterly alone again just when she thought she’d finally found happiness.

In her new novel,Danielle Steel tells the unforgettable story of a woman who refuses to give up until she finds the joy she deserves."

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