Boundaries: A Love Story

by Christine Z. Mason

Overview

In the summer of 1980, 16-year-old Kaia Matheson travels from her home in Berkeley to a small island off of Cape Cod for a family vacation. Kaia hopes to confront her mother Jean about abandoning her in California, allegedly to pursue a high-powered career in Manhattan. However, Jean remains aloof and offers no apology for leaving Kaia in the custody of her controlling, alcoholic father. Intrigued by her rugged and intelligent older cousin Mark Karadonis, Kaia turns to him for companionship. Despite his misgivings, Mark is irresistibly attracted to his young cousin. When he arrives in Berkeley in the fall to start law school, the two cousins’ involvement deepens. Kaia’s father enters a relationship with Chandi Gupta, a lawyer who handles cases of child neglect and abandonment. Through Chandi, Kaia becomes interested in children’s rights and a legal career.

This East Coast-West Coast saga tracks the conflicts between individual desire and societal expectations, weaving together the tragedies and clandestine affairs of two families, and eventually reveals a devastating secret that threatens to unravel the lives of Kaia and Mark.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780989795869
Publisher:	Hillrow Editions
Publication date:	04/03/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	446
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Christine Z. Mason, a novelist and former attorney, lives on the central coast of California.

Editorial Reviews

“Forbidden love flourishes in Mason’s debut novel as Kaia and Mark, first cousins, fall in love. The two meet the summer that Kaia is 16. Devastated by her parents’ recent divorce, Kaia is finally ready to confront her mother for leaving her with her controlling father in Berkeley, Calif. When Kaia and her mother spend two weeks together with Kaia’s aunt and uncle on an island off Cape Cod, instead of contending with her anger toward her mother, Kaia finds herself fiercely attracted to Mark, her older cousin who is about to start law school. . . . As the story shifts from Maine to California, Kaia and Mark will have to make decisions that will affect them and their families. The characters and their choices come alive as dynamic and complicated in this involving story about desire and the intricate secrets of families. The issues of Kaia’s finding herself, despite her father’s iron fist and Mark’s at times suffocating love, speak to the tricky navigations of the heart as well as the delicate balance of individuality and interdependence. Kaia shines as a growing girl who changes over the course of the novel, and the tension of her conflict will keep readers intrigued. A feast of romantic entanglements that tests the odds.”—Kirkus Reviews

“BOUNDARIES: A LOVE STORY will have you torn between lingering over the beautifully crafted prose and rushing ahead to discover how several absorbing questions are resolved. The story of Kaia and Mark and the difficult decisions they face will lead you to think about the novel long after you’ve read the last page.”– Susan Samuels Drake, Author of Fields of Courage and Wandering Amazed

“Intriguing and touching, a beautiful story.”– Bharti Kirchner, Author of Darjeeling and Tulip Season: A Mitra Basu Mystery

"Christine Z. Mason’s debut novel is not your run-of-the-mill love story. It’s a coming-of-age story rife with family tensions resulting from a taboo relationship among cousins, mental illness, infidelity, and the impact of career on relationships, and Ms. Mason’s portrayal of the characters⎯some likeable and some despicable⎯in the face of these conflicts is spot on. Also, although set in the 1980’s, the author has found a way to incorporate issues, such as feminism, religion, domestic violence, and constitutional rights, that are just as relevant today as they were back then. . . . [W]ith Ms. Mason’s phenomenal command of the English language and beautiful prose, this is a novel that simply can’t be put down until it’s finished."—G. Elizabeth Kretchmer, Author, The Damnable Legacy and Women on the Brink

From the Publisher

2014-01-07
Forbidden love flourishes in Mason's debut novel as Kaia and Mark, first cousins, fall in love. The two meet the summer that Kaia is 16. Devastated by her parents' recent divorce, Kaia is finally ready to confront her mother for leaving her with her controlling father in Berkeley, Calif. When Kaia and her mother spend two weeks together with Kaia's aunt and uncle on an island off of Cape Cod, instead of contending with her anger toward her mother, Kaia finds herself fiercely attracted to Mark, her older cousin who is about to start law school. Their connection intensifies, and soon it's apparent that nothing will stop the two from being together—not the fear of genetic diseases for their children or the opinion of their shocked family. But Kaia soon learns that her mother is having an affair with Nico, Kaia's uncle and Mark's father, and they plan to marry. Aside from the horror Kaia and Mark feel about being stepsiblings, yet another secret their parents are keeping might make their already complicated affair even worse. As the story shifts from Maine to California, Kaia and Mark will have to make decisions that will affect them and their families. The characters and their choices come alive as dynamic and complicated in this involving story about desire and the intricate secrets of families. The issues of Kaia's finding herself, despite her father's iron fist and Mark's at times suffocating love, speak to the tricky navigations of the heart as well as the delicate balance of individuality and interdependence. Kaia shines as a growing girl who changes over the course of the novel, and the tension of her conflict will keep readers intrigued. A feast of romantic entanglements that tests the odds.

Kirkus Reviews