Rose by Any Other Name

Australian author McCarthy crafts a juicy family melodrama in her American debut. Set in her native country, McCarthy's novel unfolds from the point of view of Rose, a no-nonsense 19-year-old whose happy, orderly life is destroyed when her father leaves her mother for another woman. Coping with their own grief, Rose and her three older sisters struggle to keep their mom from falling apart. Alternating between a present-day road trip taken by Rose and her mom and flashbacks from a year earlier detailing the shocking events that precipitate their trip, the book hurtles its audience onto an emotional roller coaster. Right after Rose kisses a cute new boy and is about to fall in love, she comes home to find her mother in a ball on the floor, crying; this is how Rose learns of her father's plans. The changes in tone are jarring but also gripping, and readers won't know what's going to happen next. Occasionally all the flashbacks to varying times can be confusing, and Rose's older sisters seem like stereotypes. But there is an authenticity to the flawed and conflicted Rose that will draw readers into her world. Ages 14-up. (Mar.)