Follow the Stars Home Book

Being a good mother is never simple: each day brings new choices and challenges. For Diane Robbins, being a devoted single mother has resulted in her greatest joy and darkest sorrow. Weeks before her daughter was born, she and her husband, Tim McIntosh, received the news that every parent fears. Tim had not reckoned on their child being anything less than perfect, and abruptly fled to a solitary existence on the sea. Diane was left with a newborn - almost alone.

It was Tim's brother, Alan, the town pediatrician, who stood by Diane and her exceptional daughter. Throughout years of waiting, watching, and caring, Alan hid his love for his brother's wife. But one of the many hard choices Diane has made is to close her heart toward any man - especially one named McIntosh. It will take a very special twelve-year-old to remind them all that love comes in many forms, and can be received with as much grace as it is given.

Publishers Weekly

Sufferers are transformed by the transcendent power of love in Rice's (Cloud Nine) uplifting if flawed new family relationship drama. Life has not proved easy for single mom Dianne Robbins, of Gull Point, Conn. Abandoned by her husband, lobsterman Tim McIntosh, just before their daughter Julia was born with spina bifida and Rett syndrome--a debilitating physical condition and an autism-like disorder, respectively--Dianne supports herself and Julia by building children's playhouses. At the age of 11, Julia weighs 29 pounds, and there is no guarantee she will live much longer; yet she has a magical radiance. Despite the difficulties of caring for a severely disabled child, Dianne is never bitter, and her relationship with Julia is hope filled and loving. Dianne had also believed that her strong love would repair Tim's damaged self-esteem and save their marriage. Now she is wary of getting involved with a man again. But Tim's brother, Alan, who also happens to be Julia's pediatrician, has been secretly in love with Dianne for years, and his steadfast devotion may be just what she needs. Meanwhile, Amy Brook, an adorable 12-year-old from a troubled family (and a familiar device in Rice's novels), finds sanctuary in the Robbins household and becomes Julia's best friend; through Amy's example, Dianne finally understands what true love means. The author takes an unaccustomed shortcut when she reveals the plot's conclusion through heretofore silent Julia's thoughts. Had Rice interwoven Julia's reactions throughout the book, the final chapter would not seem a quick device to tie up loose ends. Still, the novel's theme--love's miraculous ability to heal--has the ingredients to warm readers' hearts. Major ad/promo. (Feb.) FYI: Rice's Cloud Nine will be released as a mass market paperback in January. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.