Amazon Exclusive: Carolyn Parkhurst Reviews A Scattered LifeCarolyn Parkhurstis the author of the bestselling novelsThe Dogs of BabelandLost and Found, and recently published the acclaimed novelThe Nobodies Album. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and their two children. Read her exclusive guest review ofKaren McQuestion'sA Scattered Life: 
A Scattered Life is the kind of novel you’ll want to recommend to a friend without quite knowing how: as soon as you begin to say what the book is "about," all of the possible descriptions seem either too small or too big for the story contained in those pages.
You might say, "It’s about friendship and family dynamics and the unexpected ways our actions influence the trajectories of other people’s lives." Or "It’s about a woman who’s doing her best to make the life she has into the life she wants to live." And it’s your 7th grade book report on The Red Pony all over again: your description isn’t inaccurate, but it doesn’t come close to conveying the book’s gravity and substance, the particular pleasure you get from immersing yourself in this novel, as opposed to any other.
So you might try getting more specific: "Okay, the main character is a woman named Skyla Plinka. She’s married and lives in the suburbs and has a little girl, and her life is all very ordered and predictable, which she likes, because her childhood was tough and she’s always craved stability. ...
