The House Party

Adult fiction 

     The plot of Rita Cameron's The House Party could have been ripped from newspaper headlines.  A group of teens decides to use a custom designed almost completed house as a party setting.  There's a lot of drinking and a fair amount of drugging going on.  At some point the point of the party becomes trashing the house to the point where a second floor toilet is wrenched off its base and thrown out of a window.  Damage estimates are in the vicinity of half a million.

     Maja has just seen the results of a once again negative pregnancy test when she gets the phone call saying her dream house has been vandalized.  She has to face not only the prospect that mending it will be prohibitively expensive if not impossible, but that she and her husband will be seen as the villains, not victims of the story.

     Most of the party participants come from wealthy, privileged families.  Their parents have elite lawyers on speed dial.  Even if they don't believe their offspring to be innocent their one concern is that the kids' brilliant futures not be tarnished.  There is a lot of pressure to put all the blame on the sons of the one not wealthy family, a family who could very well lose the family apple orchard as well as the younger son's Princeton acceptance and scholarship.

     Meanwhile behind the scenes Maja's husband is experiencing work stress he will not share with her, giving her the run around when, for instance a credit card unexpectedly bounces.

     And then there's the conflict between the assistant district attorney who performs due diligence and his boss who feels that not rocking the boat comes before getting to the truth.

     With a wealth of perspectives included The House Party is one of those all too rare adult novels that inspires thought and insight even as it serves up a riveting plot.  We're talking superb beach or camp read.

On a purrrsonal note, 33 years ago today I became a mother for the first time.  My life changed forever the moment I met Amber.  I fell head over heels in love in a way I never before had thought possible.  (Jules)

I love our Amber.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Amber with best wishes for a birthday that's as special as she is.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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