Vantage Point
I’m drawn to any novel set in Maine. The combination of classic summers paired with epic winters seems fertile ground for almost any story. Vantage Point is well situated.
The story focuses on two siblings from the wealthy Wieland family. The family is plagued by a curse or potentially hubris, a mansion that sits on a forbidding cliff.
When we meet Clara and her brother Teddy, they both seem relatively stable. Teddy is embarking on a campaign for local office and Clara is running the family foundation. She is in recovery from eating disorders triggered after witnessing her parents accidental deaths.
Blips soon appear as the pressure of the campaign highlights old wounds and unresolved conflicts.
The pacing is good and a few twists at the end make this 2025 novel appropriate for our times.
About the Author
Sara Sligar is an author and academic based in Los Angeles, where she teaches English and creative writing as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Southern California. She holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s in History from the University of Cambridge. Her writing has been published in McSweeney’s, Quartz, The Hairpin, and other outlets. Take Me Apart is her first novel.
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