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About Bright: A Novel
Product Description Leeann Bright’s idyllic childhood in the small New England town of Berkshire Ridge is interrupted when she witnesses the father she loves committing arson. He enlists her to keep it their secret, even though a man died in the fire. The twelve year old is left to bear the burden alone when her father abandons the family.Hoping to heal the wounds, she reaches out to Traci, daughter of the man killed in the fire. They bond as children and later as young professionals building careers in Boston. When Traci begins a search into the cause of her father’s death, the two women find themselves in conflict. Leeann is faced with revealing the truth about the fire and her part in the deception, an admission that will set her and Traci free, but the cost may be too great.A REVIEW….“Readers of women’s fiction will receive a treat with Christine Melchior’s Bright, a story that opens in 1983 in Massachusetts, where twelve-year-old Leeann Bright observes a fire and her father running from it. Fast forward to 1998. Leeann works in a Boston high-rise and faces the lingering aftereffects of her father’s involvement in the blaze when new information breaks open the arson case.“As the timeline fluctuates between the 80s and Leeann’s coming of age and new adult challenges, readers receive an engrossing story of the impact of adult decisions on a child’s psyche and its reemergence in adulthood. Bright is highly recommended as a coming-of-age story of moral and ethical struggle and growth, and is a riveting inspection of intention and consequences.”—Diane Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review Review Readers of women's fiction will receive a treat with Christine Melchior's Bright, a story that opens in 1983 in Massachusetts, where twelve-year-old Leeann Bright observes a fire and her father running from it. Fast forward to 1998. Leeann works in a Boston high-rise and faces the lingering aftereffects of her father's involvement in the blaze when new information breaks open the arson case. As the timeline fluctuates between the 80s and Leeann's coming of age and new adult challenges, readers receive an engrossing story of the impact of adult decisions on a child's psyche and its reemergence in adulthood. Christine Melchior is at her best when describing the aftereffects of this choice: "Leeann woke in the middle of the night on a sweat-soaked sheet. Panic tightened her chest. She sat up, trying to catch her breath. She had lied to the police and that was a crime. She broke the law. People get arrested for lying to the police. They get prosecuted. She could end up in jail or juvenile hall for a long time. She took deep breaths trying to relax and clear her mind. Her eye caught a patch of blue and yellow paisley patterned wallpaper, dimly lit by her night-light. When she squinted, she saw sea urchins with monster heads floating across the wall." She also excels at crafting a long-ranging story that follows Leeann's confrontation with her mother, her father's journey, and the long-term consequences of a choice that changes a family's trajectory and life. From an anonymous note years later that reopens old wounds to the progression of years from age 12 and upwards which contrast with the now-adult Leeann's struggles, Melchior's story is poignant, realistic, engrossing, and follows the newly challenged connections between a child and her parents through the years as everything changes: "Under normal circumstances the day would have left Leeann feeling pumped. She was heading to Boston University with a four-year scholarship a few days before Labor Day to live in a high-rise dorm with its view of the Boston skyline. She walked onto the stage to the cheers of her softball teammates. She should have had a glow on her face. The principal handed her a diploma, that piece of parchment releasing her from childhood, launching her into adulthood, but all she thought of was her mother, who had wanted to live lo
