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The Search for Susu
When Dr. Francine Carty imagined becoming a tenured professor at one of Philadelphia's most revered institutions of higher learning, she never considered just how winding the road to fulfilling her dream would be. The financial and psychological hardships she encounters as an adjunct professor seem to diminish her dreams into fantasies.
Complicating matters is her intermittent relationship with a handsome but annoying colleague. Taking advantage of a moment of clarity, Francine lands the opportunity of lifetime—a research fellowship to Ghana sponsored by a secret global network of highly successful women. But calamity awaits as Francine learns just how low she can fall when an unfortunate decision goes viral on social media and devastates her reputation at home and abroad.
Humbly, Francine faces her truth and does the work to overcome the pain of shame and rejection with the help of an incredibly intriguing stranger. Despite a second chance, Francine is unsure if she can climb out of the muck of her own making when she returns stateside to face expectant family, friends and colleagues.
Will she have to give up the life she envisioned?
Which of her relationships will survive the fall out?
Plot/Idea: 5 out of 10
Originality: 6 out of 10
Prose: 5 out of 10
Character/Execution: 5 out of 10
Overall: 5.25 out of 10
Assessment:
Francine, an adjunct professor at a Philadelphia area college, supplements her income with jobs as a phone sex operator and a bartender when an opportunity to conduct research in Ghana leads to an opportunity for self-reflection. Francine’s plight as a downtrodden professor is somewhat flimsy, but this slim romantic novel has some fun moments in the first half. However, several loose ends and odd shifts in point-of-view will frustrate some readers, as will the sped-up, too-tidy ending.
Date Submitted: July 01, 2016
