Cutting Teeth

Debut novelist Fierro tells a story about the obsessive, competitive, and neurotic behavior of parents in their 30s. The focus is four families who venture to a Long Island beach house for Labor Day weekend. Nicole, a paranoid pot smoker, is trying to avoid taking Zoloft again; Allie and Susanna are newlyweds and expecting; Rip is a stay-at-home father who argues with his wife about buying his little boy a princess dress; Leigh is an heiress trying to maintain the pretense that she has not, in fact, lost her family fortune. Finally, there is Tiffany, who always has the last word and consistently wears the least amount of clothing among the weekenders. As the melting pot of personality churns and Tiffany’s appetite for wreaking havoc grows, jealously, betrayal, and regret slowly overpower any possibility for relaxation. Even though this story is framed to be a cozy and comical slice of life, Fierro’s attempts to relate to the current age of parenting ultimately fall short. [em](May) [/em]