Born in Rio

After her mother's death, 37-year-old Rita leaves Manhattan and her lucrative job on Wall Street and returns home to Rio de Janeiro, where she will attempt to find herself and confront her past. Martins effectively captures life in Brazil's most famous city%E2%80%94ably rendering Carnival, the beaches, and the people%E2%80%94but her novel suffers from a propensity for misusing words%E2%80%94e.g., a character's eyes are described as "glass-breaking"%E2%80%94and clunky, repetitive exposition. Additionally, the author's characterization is weak; Rita remains stubbornly opaque throughout, while supporting characters are stereotypical, e.g., a wise godmother; an evil, absent father. Readers interested in Brazilian life may find something worthwhile, but most readers will likely lose interest.