Book Review: Stuck in the Middle by Virginia Smith
Joan. Boring name for a boring life. Or so Joan believes until she meets her new next door neighbor. The handsome doctor her age makes Joan realize that there may be more to life than settling for living at home, getting up every morning to go to an unfulfilling career and wishing she were living one of her sisters’ lives.
But Joan knows she can’t make a change because no one would be there to care for her aging grandmother - a job that she has taken upon herself, but truly enjoys. Not to mention, the doctor may be adorable, but he’s also a Christian. And Joan’s not so sure that’s what she needs right now. Her life is comfortable - why complicate it with thoughts of love and religion. Joan’s not sure her life can handle either.
Stuck in the Middle is a picture of what life is like as middle child. It seems most three daughter families have the smart, ‘motherly’ older sister; the sweet, carefree younger sister; and the insecure, people-pleasing middle child. Joan is the epitome of a middle child and yet she’s easy to love. I was rooting for her from the very beginning. The two other sisters frustrated me at first, but as the book progresses you learn how much they care about their sister and they endear themselves as well.
The novel is the first book in the Sister-to-Sister Series and Virginia Smith’s sixth book. Smith’s contemporary fiction is filled with humor as well as meaningful lessons for life. There is one specific section in Stuck in the Middle that really made me pause and re-evaluate how I think about my life (I don’t want to give it away, but look for the chocolate ice cream story). I love a book that sticks with me. Weeks after I put it down, it still comes to mind and continues to make me think.
Review By:
Jill Hart
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