Marilou Is Everywhere

Outsider. Sarah Elaine Smith’s debut novel it titled, Marilou Is Everywhere. Protagonist Cindy Stoat is coming of age in rural Pennsylvania as an outsider. She and her two brothers have been living on their own since their mother abandoned them. After Cindy’s brother Virgil’s girlfriend, Jude, disappears, the siblings begin spending time with Jude’s mom, Bernadette. While at first in her alcoholic haze, Bernadette doesn’t register the presence of Cindy, before long she begins to mistake Cindy for the missing Jude. Missing her own mother, Cindy falls into a situation where she is being loved in a home with affluence. Smith offers this story using finely written prose that will be savored by those readers who can overlook a lot of the quirky aspects of this novel. Rating: Three-star (It’s ok) Click here to purchase Marilou Is Everywhere from amazon.com.