~Hanging by a Thread~

by Karen Templeton

A guest review by Mary K. Bryson

Heroine: Average

     By day, Ellie Levine is a middle-level designer’s assistant on Seventh
Avenue. By night, Ellie is a single mother living with her Grandfather in
Queens, still neighbors with the people she’s known her whole life.
Independent in her vintage fashion and career determination, Ellie is
stylish, educated, and witty. She is also resigned to staying in Richmond
Hill, since she can’t afford to move her family to the city, and really,
deep down, home is where all her childhood friends and neighbors are.

     Themes of motherhood, fatherhood, truth and honesty, friendship and
romantic love, and a whopping dose of city chic add up to a second-chance
romance, difficult relationship choices, and a surprising career path. Despite
an edgy and sarcastic voice, Ellie is sincere and shows integrity of
character—although it doesn’t spare her from getting caught in a web of
well-intended deception with her two best friends. Karen Templeton
writes about single motherhood, a young woman’s creative ambitions, and
romantic confusion while balancing the everyday ordinary reality of Queens with the fantastic flash of New York City. Ellie’s life drastically changes,
and change certainly isn’t always easy.

What worked for me:

      Ellie’s voice and her relationship with her daughter are endearing, as
is her satisfying tendency to fight back when pushed. Compassionate and
normal, she is the perfect heroine to root for as she faces the issues
of both the big city and the close-knit community.