Little Mercies

April 21, 2014
Like her debut, The Weight of Silence, Gudenkauf’s latest explores the vulnerability of children, this time through two linked stories narrated in alternating chapters. Social worker Ellen Moore juggles responsibility for three children, a husband, a widowed mother, and a caseload of endangered children. One hot and hectic July morning, she rushes out of her house in Cedar City, Iowa, to help a troubled family, barely hearing her husband’s goodbyes. Only later does she realize that Adam, asking her to bring their infant daughter Avery to daycare, has put the child into their van. As Avery is rushed to the hospital with life-threatening heatstroke, Ellen faces a familiar investigation—this time as an accused perpetrator of child endangerment herself. Out on bail but prohibited from seeing Avery, she finds refuge at her mother’s house. Meanwhile, 10-year-old Jenny Briard runs away from her home in Nebraska after her alcoholic father is arrested. When Jenny ends up in Cedar City, she is found and taken in by Ellen’s lonely mother, Maudene. Helping her mother decide what to do with the girl, Ellen realizes that clues to the secrets of Jenny’s past are within her own case files. With its compelling premise, Ellen’s story is more gripping than Jenny’s. But its hurried denouement feels false and sentimental, denying the more nuanced resolution her complex situation deserves.

May 15, 2014

Gudenkauf (One Breath Away) is back with a riveting, fast-paced story. Ellen Moore, a social worker and harried mother of three, is bowed under the weight of her caseload of suffering children. Her life is shattered when, engrossed with an emergency case, she accidentally leaves her 11-month-old daughter in a hot car. Suddenly her baby is struggling for life, her employers are accusing her of child neglect, and her marriage is under tremendous strain. The breakneck pace of Ellen's disintegration is tempered with alternating chapters from the point of view of ten-year-old Jenny Briad, who has a loving but ne'er-do-well father and a mysterious past. This work combines page-turning intensity with deep questions about priorities and the sacrifices women make in their lives. The portrayal of the frenzied speed of a mother's life leading ultimately to tragedy is similar to Lisa Genova's Left Neglected, but with the additional horror of every parent's worst fear: harming their own child. VERDICT This novel is full of hope, despite a sometimes harrowing focus on abused children. Recommend to those looking for a quick read with lots to discuss; ideal for book groups.--Jan Marry, Williamsburg Regional Lib., VA

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2014
As a social worker, Ellen Moore is regrettably familiar with the types of abuse adults can inflict on children. She's seen burns, bruises, and deeper, psychological scars. Ellen's casework has always bled into her home life as she plans routes to home visits while cooking breakfast or wakes up from a nightmare about one of her most violent cases. After Ellen accidentally leaves her one-year-old daughter in the family's minivan during the hottest day of the year, Ellen finds herself on the other side of the law. Slapped with the liabilities that accompany such a terrible accident, Ellen is forced to confront the very system she knows so well. An unlikely ally enters her life, and Ellen's mission to rebuild her relationships with her family, friends, and colleagues might be within her grasp. A story of motherhood, guilt, and redemption, Little Mercies examines our deepest fears and highest hopes. Gudenkauf's prose is searingly raw, as Ellen's confusion, guilt, and pain are laid bare. Thrilling and emotionally tender, this novel, with its driving pace, will appeal to fans of Lisa Scottoline and Jodi Picoult.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)