The Tragedy Paper, which has been translated into eleven foreign languages, and The Grandparents Handbook, which has been translated into seven foreign languages, and Pretty Little World, which she co-authored with Melissa DePino.LaBan applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, Not Perfect, and reported the following:
Page 69 begins with Levi, Tabitha’s son, leaning over her and shaking her awake. “Get up, it’s so late,” he says. He is frustrated that all the systems in their home have broken down since his father Stuart disappeared, though the kids think, or are at least told, that he is simply on an extended business trip. It is a good glimpse into the book, as they are all in a bad spot – Tabitha is disoriented when she is woken up, and then realizes that Fern, her daughter, is in her bed because her leg has been causing her pain. Levi wants everyone and everything to be normal. And Fern is pretending her leg – which hurts a lot – isn’t as bad as it is since she knows something is up and doesn’t want to make things harder for her mother. It all prompts Tabitha to yet again try to finagle the rules in an effort to not spend money since their cash flow stopped when Stuart left (she worries about the co-pay at the pediatrician’s office), and asks if the school nurse will take a look at Fern even though it is completely against school policy. Two pages later Tabitha sends her first 911 text to Stuart – one that goes unanswered, and the reader understands that Stuart is unreachable and Tabitha really is on her own.Visit Elizabeth LaBan's website.
The Page 69 Test: The Restaurant Critic's Wife.
--Marshal Zeringue
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