Mad Love (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Mad Love Kate Quealy-Gainer Selfors, Suzanne . Mad Love. Walker, 2011. [320p]. ISBN 978-0-8027-8450-6 $16.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 7-10. Although her author mother is known as the Queen of Romance to legions of readers, Alice Amorous is not exactly living a life of royalty. Instead, she spends most of her days fending off publishers’ requests and forging her mother’s signature on fan mail while trying to figure out how she is going to pay the medical bills from Harmony Hospital, the incredibly expensive but invaluably discreet mental institution that is currently housing her bipolar mother. Enter Errol, a terminally ill teen who is not only convinced that he is the god of love, Cupid, but that only Alice can write the true story of his affair with Psyche so that the world will know the reality behind the myth and he can finally die in peace. While the last thing Alice needs in her life is more crazy, she agrees to tell his story after some divine, ahem, [End Page 297] persuasion; soon she finds herself believing both in Errol and more importantly in the love, both romantic and otherwise, that surrounds her on a daily basis. A host of oddball characters and a sweet hint of romance make this mostly a light, effervescent read, but when the story takes its turn at more serious moments, the result is often disappointingly generic. The troubled relationship between Alice and her mother and its parallel in her anorexic neighbor’s relationship with her father is somewhat belabored, making for a programmatic element that disrupts the playful tone. Furthermore, although Errol keeps promising that his love story is “the greatest love story ever told,” we actually get to hear very little of it, and from what we do, it’s pretty standard fare. Alice is nonetheless a likable heroine, and readers may find the gentle humor and happy ending a fitting accompaniment to their Valentine’s Day sweets. [End Page 298] Copyright © 2011 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois