An absolutely stunning, heartbreaking, and spellbinding read. Very well-written and with painful, true-to-life insights into the thoughts and lives of the characters, The Deep End of the Ocean tells the haunting story of a floundering mother and her two sons, one lost to her on accident, the other lost by her on purpose.

SPOILER ALERT

Ben Cappadora is three years old when his careless mother, Beth, leaves him under the sole care of his seven-year-old brother, Vincent. One moment the hotel lobby is brimming with the excited, reconnecting guests of a highschool reunion; the next, all is horrified chaos. Ben is gone.

The story flows smoothly into the ensuing, rabid search, the slow slide into depression on Beth's part, the years of blaming himself and distancing the world on Vincent's, the ultimate conclusion that Ben is gone forever. The book could have ended there and still provided a satisfactory, albeit dark, read.

But it plunges on, swirling over and around Beth's lifeless, uncaring existence, exploding spectacularly upon the harshly cold misbehavior of Vincent, now called Reese, lapsing in peace for only a moment when the long-looked-for but never truly expected reunion comes. The joy, the ecstatic unbelievableness of it, ghosts away as quickly as it came, and the waves of bitter reality crash in. Yes, a son has been found... but not Beth's son.

Awakened into sorrowing heartache and endless confusion, Beth struggles on, unable to help either herself or her two lost-and-found, renamed sons. The family is torn apart again, never really made whole to begin with. Again, the book could have ended nearly perfectly here, with its sad portrayal of the unfairness of life and uncertainty of loyalty.

But Jacquelyn Mitchard, as a truly phenomenal author will do, saw yet a more complete conclusion, one that is almost expected, definitely longed for, and utterly bittersweet in its enactment.

Very hard to put down and extremely engaging from the first page through the last, The Deep End of the Ocean is a read in which I hope to immerse myself many times over.
An absolutely stunning, heartbreaking, and spellbinding read. Very well-written and with painful, true-to-life insights into the thoughts and lives of the characters, The Deep End of the Ocean tells the haunting story of a floundering mother and her two sons, one lost to her on accident, the other lost by her on purpose. SPOILER ALERT

Ben Cappadora is three years old when his careless mother, Beth, leaves him under the sole care of his seven-year-old brother, Vincent. One moment the hotel lobby is brimming with the excited, reconnecting guests of a highschool reunion; the next, all is horrified chaos. Ben is gone. The story flows smoothly into the ensuing, rabid search, the slow slide into depression on Beth's part, the years of blaming himself and distancing the world on Vincent's, the ultimate conclusion that Ben is gone forever. The book could have ended there and still provided a satisfactory, albeit dark, read. But it plunges on, swirling over and around Beth's lifeless, uncaring existence, exploding spectacularly upon the harshly cold misbehavior of Vincent, now called Reese, lapsing in peace for only a moment when the long-looked-for but never truly expected reunion comes. The joy, the ecstatic unbelievableness of it, ghosts away as quickly as it came, and the waves of bitter reality crash in. Yes, a son has been found... but not Beth's son. Awakened into sorrowing heartache and endless confusion, Beth struggles on, unable to help either herself or her two lost-and-found, renamed sons. The family is torn apart again, never really made whole to begin with. Again, the book could have ended nearly perfectly here, with its sad portrayal of the unfairness of life and uncertainty of loyalty. But Jacquelyn Mitchard, as a truly phenomenal author will do, saw yet a more complete conclusion, one that is almost expected, definitely longed for, and utterly bittersweet in its enactment. Very hard to put down and extremely engaging from the first page through the last, The Deep End of the Ocean is a read in which I hope to immerse myself many times over.