‘Year That Follows’ another family drama

  Scott Lasser’s “The Year That Follows” is another tale of family secrets.
  Cat, a single mother living in Detroit, lost her brother, Kyle, during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Her brother had an ex-girlfriend who’d had a baby, and he believed he was the father. The ex-girlfriend also was killed in the attacks, and Cat is desperate to find the boy she believes is her nephew.
  At the same time, Cat’s father, Sam, is dying. He wants Cat to visit him in California so he can reveal a secret he has kept from her through the years and so they can honor Kyle’s memory together.
  While “The Hour I First Believed” author Wally Lamb calls this book “stirring, poignant, and profound,” I call it predictable, convenient and underdeveloped. Sorry Wally (and Scott).
  The characters are not fully fleshed out and the plot holds few surprises as I knew what the ending would be well before I got there. As for convenience, one day while taking her son to the zoo, Cat runs into her old boyfriend, who is now a divorced doctor with a son, and he’s ready to pick up right where they left off. If only things always came that easily.
  All that said, “The Year That Follows” isn’t really a bad book. I guess I just hoped for something a little bit more emotionally gripping given the 9/11 angle. It’s a quick and easy read and the exploration of family ties is meaningful, but it’s not one of those novels where the characters linger, and, I’m sorry to say, it’s not one that I’ll pass on to my friends.