Sandy M’s review of Family Tree by Barbara Delinsky
Contemporary Romance audiobook published by Random House Audio 6 Feb 07

I listen to a lot of audiobooks while driving; can’t do without my books for even that long! Every now and again one of those audiobooks keeps me interested in the story more than the driving. This book certainly did that when I missed my freeway exit and ended up 15 miles down the road to the next town before I realized what I’d done. While that’s not the best thing in the world to have happen right at that moment, at least that tells you this is a darned good story.

Hugh and Dana Clarke are expecting their first child. This is a time in their lives of joy and anticipation. When the baby finally decides to come into the world, they’re prepared and all goes well, mother and daughter are doing fine. But when they get a good look at their new daughter, besides ten tiny fingers and toes, they notice little Lizzy also has traits of African American descent in her appearance. While they’re both a bit stunned, Dana is giddily happy with her perfect little girl. It’s Hugh who hesitates too long, who has doubts.

Then Hugh’s family begins to pressure to him to find Dana’s father, a man she’s never met, never known. The only family she has now is her grandmother, and she knows not much more than Dana. But Dana has never been interested in locating her father; she’s the result of a casual college relationship between her mother, who is now deceased, and a man who has never taken an interest in Dana. Hugh warns her they need to be prepared to answer questions people will ask when they see Lizzy. He knows there’s no African American ancestors in his family, it’s been traced back generations. If they don’t have answers, folks will assume the worst, like an affair.

Dana is dumbfounded that Hugh is giving in to the pressure around him, doubting her and her fidelity. He finally goes so far as to get a paternity test – just to quiet the nonbelievers, or so he says. Crushed that her husband doesn’t trust her – a marriage without trust isn’t a marriage – she reluctantly agrees to the test. The strain between them only grows. While all of this is going on, there are also plenty of other happenings around. Dana’s grandmother owns a local yarn shop and we get to meet and interact with a few characters there, some of whom knew Dana’s mother, and this is where Dana begins with the scant information they have to start her search. Hugh has taken on a pro bono legal client, one he met at the hospital, who is trying to get help from her father’s child to pay for the medical care due to his injuries as a result of a car accident. It ends up being a very high-profile case, and he fights to the end for what’s right.

The results of the paternity test put Hugh’s mind at ease, though Dana is still angry with him and his reason for needing it in the first place. The search for Dana’s father finally bears fruit, and they’re assured there’s no such ancestry in her family. She’s so overwhelmed at what she finds out that Dana just can’t handle the new family that comes out of the woodwork at this point. It’s during a routine checkup for Lizzy that it’s discovered she’s a carrier of the sickle cell, found predominantly in people of color. Dana is immediately tested, with negative results. The twist in all their lives comes when Hugh tests positive and all his family secrets that are at the core of the issue plaguing them are finally emotionally revealed.

I find this concept interesting, to say the least. Ms. Delinsky does a terrific job at building the reader up to go a certain way in the story and then turning the tables on both reader and characters. For Dana, she never cared where the baby’s color came from. It doesn’t matter. Though it matters to Hugh, more from family and social pressure, he does find that it’s not really as important as he thought. All that truly matters is that little girl and her family.

Grade: B

Summary:

An explosive novel about family, and choices people make in times of crisis.

Dana Clarke has always longed for the stability of home and family—her own childhood was not an easy one. Now she has married a man she adores who is from a prominent New England family, and she is about to give birth to their first child. But what should be the happiest day of her life becomes the day her world falls apart. Her daughter is born beautiful and healthy, but no one can help noticing the African American traits in her appearance. Dana’s husband, to her great shock and dismay, begins to worry that people will think Dana has had an affair.The only way to repair the damage done is for Dana to track down the father she never knew and to explore the possibility of African American lineage in his family history. Dana’s determination to discover the truth becomes a poignant journey back through her past and her husband’s heritage that unearths secrets rooted in prejudice and fear. Barbara Delinsky’s Family Tree is an utterly unforgettable novel that asks penetrating questions about race, family, and the choices people make in times of crisis—choices that have profound consequences that can last for generations

Read an excerpt.