“[An] exquisite debut . . . moving and hopeful.” –People Style Watch
To Ella Beene, happiness means living in the Northern California river town of Elbow, California, with her husband Joe and his two young children. But one summer day Joe drowns, leaving Ella alone with Annie and Zach—until his ex-wife, Paige, shows up at the funeral. For three years, Ella believed that Paige had selfishly abandoned her family. Yet—as the custody fight between mother and stepmother ensues—Ella realizes there may be more to the story than Joe ever revealed.
The Underside of Joy is not a fairy-tale version of step-motherhood, pitting good against evil, but a captivating story of two women who both claim to be the mother of the same two children.
- ISBN10 0452298733
- ISBN13 9780452298736
- Publish Date 27 November 2012 (first published 1 January 2012)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc
- Imprint Plume
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 320
- Language English
- URL https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780452298736