At the Breakers: A Novel

by: Mary Ann Taylor-Hall

Published by: University of Kentucky Press

Reviewed by Elizabeth Bright

Mary Ann Taylor-Hall is the author of Come and Go, Molly Snow, How She Knows What She Knows About Yo-Yos, and a poetry collection titled Dividing Ridge.

Everyone makes mistakes in life, some just make more than others–and the consequences for some are more deeply felt. Jo Sinclair is one of those women who visited the land of bad choices over the years. The single mother of four left an abusive relationship and traveled to Sea Cove, New Jersey where an old hotel, The Breakers, was undergoing renovation. Without any job prospects, Jo wrangles a home for her and her youngest son Nick as well as a job painting hotel rooms at The Breakers. The vehicle for the story and all of the various characters begins.

For Jo, the Breakers is an opportunity to “grow up” and recreate herself and her life; one that was put on hold by a teenage pregnancy. As Jo’s new life begins, the reader is treated to a unique cast of characters. There is a mixed-breed dog, Charlie; Iris Zephyr, is a permanent border of the hotel and happens to be over ninety; Wendy, Jo’s eighteen-year-old daughter; Marco, the owner of a gas station;
and an older man from Jo’s past.

I thoroughly enjoyed At The Breakers. The message of hope, determination, reconciliation and forgiveness is a reminder we all need occasionally. Taylor-Hall’s voice rings true and the characters are fully developed and intriguing. I wanted to know what happened and so I kept turning the pages.

At the end, I didn’t want to end my visit to the world Taylor-Hall created. For me that’s a successful novel.

Armchair Interviews says: A perfect read for the summer.