Book Review: Making Waves

I apologize beforehand for the length of this post. I needed to vent. 

As you all probably well know by this time, I loathe and despise mainstream Christian romance with a vengeance brought on by years of being steeped in well-written, wholesome literature. I only picked up Making Waves because it was a Kindle freebie (still is) and I was in Washington DC for a week and the metro commute was too long to just sit.

Quickies

1 out of 5

Recommended for: No one

Categories: What to read if you want constructive information on what not to write

Synopsis

When spunky Marguerite Westing discovers that her family will summer at Lake Manawa in 1895, she couldn't be more thrilled. It is the perfect way to escape her agonizingly boring suitor, Roger Gordon. It's also where she stumbles upon two new loves: sailing, and sailing instructor Trip Andrews. But this summer of fun turns to turmoil as her father's gambling problems threaten to ruin the family forever. Will free-spirited Marguerite marry Roger to save her father's name and fortune? Or will she follow her heart--even if it means abandoning the family she loves?

Plot

The words that come to mind when I think about this book are disorganized and incoherent. I don't think the author had a clearly defined plot to follow because everything is jumbled up and thrown in. There are no guidelines. It's almost as if she remembers incidents and people that she wanted to talk about earlier, but instead of going back and putting them where they're supposed to be, she just throws them in where she is and leaves it. 

The beginning is rather promising - I actually thought it might have something to it - but after the first chapter, Marguerite falls into the lake and nothing is promising again.

Mrs. Seilstad seems to be more interested in filling us in on minute details about sailing, the very bottom of the barrel of Marguerite's closet, anything and everything about Trip Andrews, ice cream in its various states of representation and other as illogical and unneeded items than she is about clearly developing her characters and defining her plot to make sense. 

Towards the end, I was flipping through pages because there were so many twists and turns that could have been expediently placed throughout the book, but were shoved to the end because we had to wade through stagnant and over-detailed chapters about the blossoming, failing, re-blossoming, failing, blossoming again, failing and eventually blossoming for good relationship between Trip and Marguerite (even though the village idiot's idiot could have figured out by reading the back cover that they were going to end up madly in love, despite their "anger at each other"). When you do the same things over and over again, they do start to get stale. It's waterlogged with such repetitiveness that you begin to get lost and wonder if perhaps you're reading the same few pages over and over. They have a sailing lesson, Trip gets mad because Marguerite lies to him, they make up at a dance and the whole vicious cycle begins again. The real plot of the book is brought in too late to do anyone any good. The reader, especially, is the loser in this game. 

God is given backstage to Marguerite and Trip. There's the usual tacky summer revival where the heroine gets choky over her sins and meets the hero afterwards (neat, elegant and worn-out way for you to discover that the man you could hardly tell was a Christian, is in fact born-again and, supposedly, very adamant about it).

Marguerite, though her conversations with the Lord are amusing, used God as a crutch and deliberately misinterprets Scripture to fit her spoiled, "headstrong" agendas. Very often, we find her asking God to forgive her for something she's about to do and justifying things with Him to serve her purposes. 

And we're supposed to believe that she's really enjoying a deep relationship with God?

It's about as deep as Trip's. 

And Trip's is nothing to write home about either.

The man actually uses the verse in Romans (Greet each other with a holy kiss) as an excuse to give Marguerite one. And Marguerite, good Christian girl that she is, doesn't call him out on his error, but instead says she likes his "interpretation" and then wonders - of all things - what he would do with the Song of Solomon!

Is this supposed to be Christian? Because it's not even funny.

Not only that, but there are other discrepancies as well. Margeurite repeatedly kisses Trip "for luck" and only on the last one does she say "I don't believe in luck. I believe in God." 

As if we're supposed to believe it now. 

Roger (the sadistically evil villain and the man Marguerite is forced to engage herself to) repeatedly announces that Marguerite "belongs to him" but it's not until the last few pages that Trip lamely speaks up and says "she isn't yours. She belongs to God."

A little late to the party, aren't you buddy? 

I could go on and on, but it would basically boil down to transcribing the book for you here.

Sadly, there are moments where true inspiration in the plot could have peeked out, but the author simply doesn't know how to handle them. Flimsy excuses are given to support circumstances that could create sympathy with the characters or suspense in the plot and nothing is fleshed out satisfactorily.  The last few chapters are pell-mell with action running downhill and everything coming to a head so quickly and illogically that the reader is left in the dust. 

I've read elsewhere that there are glaring errors in the historical content as well. For example, the driving point of the first half of the book is that it's improper for women to go sailing, when, in fact it was an encouraged summer activity for proper young ladies. 

Just because something sounds good doesn't always mean it's accurate. 

That's one of the first lessons a true writer should learn. 

Research is key.

Characters

Marguerite Westing - Heroine

Before I begin here, I'd like to point out an interesting detail: Marguerite's sister, who comes in for a brief and illogically uninformative time, is named Mary. Her younger brother is named, a little less  commonly, Mark. These are solid, typical names for secondary characters. But illogically, why do Mr. and Mrs. Westing decide, after a run-of-the-mill handle like "Mary" to name their second child Mar-guer-ite? It doesn't fit. If they've got Mary and plan on Mark, it's hard to believe that there'll be a jump out of character such as Marguerite. 

But so she is, and so we are. Stuck with a flighty, manipulative, petty, childish young lady who behaves so badly that you wish she would be stuck marrying that "cruel" and "vicious" tyrant of a Roger because he's the only guy in the book who could give her what she deserves. 

Of course she's the most beautiful creature ever to touch a foot on this hallowed earth, but aside from that, there's really nothing behind it except a lying, conniving, oh-so-helpless heroine who rarely thinks of anyone but herself. 

"Trip" Phillip Sutton Andrews III - Hero

You say white, I say black. You say chocolate, I say vanilla. You say right, I say wrong. You say dog, I say cat. You say Phillip Sutton Andrews III, I say, most naturally, dimples. 

It's the first thing that comes to mind with a name like that, especially after you've been greeted with those roguish craters every time you meet him. 

Honestly, I have never known a man so more defined by a physical trait except perhaps for Santa Claus. In the good times, in the bad, in the rocky places, in the smooth, in the drowning and the saving, you can always count on them to come through. And Marguerite informing the reader that she longs to touch them. Or that she notices them. 

Other than that, there's not much to the man aside from his muscular arms, his broad chest, his gold-flecked hazel eyes, his sun-kissed brown hair and how good he looks in a striped, Union suit bathing costume (eew!).

He's the typical all-perfect hero-man who is sensitive and courteous, but carries a hurt deep inside that the heroine (in this case our hapless, careless Mar-Guer-Ite) can't help but stir up. 

Apparently she sees something in him that I missed.

Roger Gordon - Villain

The only problem with Roger is that he's only really a villain in the last, oh, four chapters. Other than that, he's just boring and mysteriously evil. 

Marguerite doesn't like him because he's dull. And not handsome. And not Trip. And she treats him rather cruelly though it's only meant to come off as headstrong. 

Roger IS dull, but at least he's human. And I don't blame him a bit for wanting to bring Marguerite down. She could use it. 

Of course, since he's the villain, you're supposed to agree with the persecuted heroine that just because he isn't handsome, has a caterpillar mustache and round shoulders, doesn't let her order what she wants at a restaurant, frowns upon her wild and childish caprices, and attempts to make her become a respectable member of society he is woefully evil and thus undeserving to be treated in a kind and courteous manner. 

In fact, it's all this that makes his descent into villain-hood all the more laughably unbelievable. An intelligent man like Roger, with his steely business mind, would think of much better evil plots than the bumbling attempts he and his henchman make at the end of this wreck and ruin to destroy Marguerite's family and force her to marry him (though, by the end, I am still wondering why he wouldn't hand her over to Trip with a "good riddance" and a sigh of relief anyway).

I don't like Roger, but I can't imagine why even he would go through all this trouble just because he wants to "own" Marguerite. She's really not worth it and it's a weak reason to go through such pains for. 

Mark Westing - Heroine's brother 

Mark isn't bad. He has his flaws and he's often too conveniently tucked away so that Marguerite and Trip can be alone together, but he's actually one of the better attempts at characterization that this author makes. 

He's sweet and caring and willing to put his life on the line for the people he loves. At the end, we're supposed to have the impression that Marguerite is the loyal, caring one who will do anything to save her family, but really, it's Mark who steals that role - and with good reason. 

He actually cares. 

Mr. and Mrs. Westing - Heroine's parents

They're both pretty weak as characters go. Mrs. Westing is the typical doting mother who only wants her daughter to marry into wealth and prestige. Aside from her pushiness at getting Marguerite to be civil to Roger and knack for showing up at just the right moment to choose the ugliest dress in her daughter's closet for her to wear, she's pretty much relegated to the background and is quite forgettable. (One point I'd like to bring up here: why is it that the pushy mothers (and ect.) always choose the frocks that make their daughters look the worst when they go out with the man the mother wants them to marry, but when the girl is meeting the man they really love, they always get to choose the dress they like best and the mother is never around?)

Mr. Westing is supposed to be this wonderful man whom Marguerite adores, but somewhere in the tussle this book represents, he never gets around to revealing that side of his character. What we get is a soppy weakling who sinks his family into ruin and who deserves neither his daughter's sympathy (such as it is) or loyalty. 

He could have added a lot to the book if not for his woeful underdevelopment.

Lily - Heroine's personal maid

Poor Lily. Not only is she this petty creature's maid, she also has to put up with all her complaining and whining over Roger and her fantasizing over Trip and her extremely misguided beliefs about what God's word is actually saying to her. 

This much-to-be-pitied girl handles the situation well, though she's often pushed to the wayside as well.  

The host of minor and secondary characters

This bunch is a motley crew including assorted servants, childhood friends, sisters and Trip's crew. 

Most of them aren't bad, but since they're only pulled out when needed, it's hard to give them any sort of accurate review. Mary, Laura and Alice are treated with especial carelessness. 

Likes

Surprisingly, there actually are a few. 

- The beginning of this book is great. It's exactly what an author wants to get their reader hooked on a book. It's funny, clever, and defines character traits very effortlessly. 

- Ok, so Marguerite has some pretty funny thoughts and there is some good repartee hidden in and around the clunky plot.

- The research behind Lake Manawa is detailed and the Mrs. Seilstad does have a flair for knowing the name brands floating around (though she does end up using them in a rather liberal and choppy manner). It's little details like that make the book more believable.

Dislikes

I'll try to keep this short because I've already outlined most of them.

- I have a real peeve with obvious discrepancies in language and action. For instance, no decent, self-respecting man like Trip would even try to touch a girl the way it's accepted now and he touches Marguerite. It just wasn't done. I know it's technically "romantic" but only a boy of ill-repute or shady upbringing would dare to act in such a manner.

Roger isn't much better, but at least he's engaged to the girl. 

- The modern figures of speech tossed around show that the author has no feel for the vernacular of the time period she clunks her characters into. "Calling the shots", "daddy", "guys" "I blew it" - those are all too modern to flow with the story line and thus only detract from it. There are hundreds of more examples, but I only had time to go through a few pages. If you can't strike the right tone, write a modern book for heaven's sake!

- The use of God to basically justify situations. God wasn't really the focus of any of these people's lives and He was only brought in to make the book "Christian". It's really not worthy of that genre in any way, shape, or form since God is pretty much ignored and manipulated anyway.

Conclusion

Making Waves is actually a rip tide and we all know what to do around those. If you don't, Google it or ask someone else. 

Till next time,