Meg Howrey was a dancer with Joffrey II and toured nationally with the Broadway production of Contact, for which she won the Ovation Award in 2001. At the heart of that dance musical is the power of fantasy in human lives. Perhaps that's where Howrey got some of her ideas for this impressive debut novel.
Luke Prescott, the 17-year-old narrator, has been brought up in a matriarchy: grandmother, mother and two sisters. It is an extraordinarily loving family, albeit slightly out of round. Thirteen generations of women populate Luke's heritage: three daughters in each family--and then along came Luke. His mother, Sara, is a wellness center owner and practices Reiki, rolfing and yoga. His grandmother is a very conservative Christian, but in this household, tolerance abounds. His sisters, Aurora and Pearl, products of the marriage of Sara and Paul, dearly love Luke. Several years ago, Paul left to take up residence in an ashram in India, never to be seen again.
Sara had a "thing" with the drop-dead handsome Anthony Boyle, which resulted in Luke. Now Anthony's a famous TV actor known as Mark Franco, and has just looked up Sara and his son. He invites Luke to leave Delaware and the family for the summer and join him in Los Angeles. Luke's been busy writing college applications, which provide a vehicle for him to explain his family to his father in a very funny manner that is never condescending. Here's where the fantasy comes in: it would be hard to imagine--fantasize--an environment more unlike the home he left. Mark has all the accoutrements that wealth can offer and shares them readily with Luke. They travel, hang out, tell stories, go to premieres and parties, and Mark writes a brief screenplay that explains a great deal to Luke about Anthony/Mark. The well-grounded Luke takes all of this in stride, enjoying new experiences and examining them through the prism of his grandmother, mother and sisters' lives and values.
Howrey introduces biological and scientific concepts, but the most telling idea for the novel is the philosophical concept of "qualia," a term used to describe the subjective quality of conscious experience. Examples of qualia are the pain of a headache, the taste of wine, the experience of taking a recreational drug or the redness of an evening sky. Despite important--and perhaps ultimately painful--revelations from both his mother and his father, "He knew the qualia for being a son. He knew the qualia of having a father. That was what he knew."
Howrey writes pitch-perfect dialogue; shows us the interior states of Luke and his father; and balances scene and conversation perfectly. Some readers may be dissatisfied with the ending she chose, but it is the only one possible. What a debut!--Valerie Ryan
Shelf Talker: A dynamite first novel about 17-year-old Luke Prescott meeting his father for the first time. Dad just happens to be a very famous TV star who introduces Luke to the craziness of Hollywood in the most benign way. Luke remains uncorrupted, always observant, appreciative and wise beyond his years.