Review Detail

Shawna Gallaghers mother left her
and her father for another woman, Fran, and her two sons, Arye and Schmule,
when Shawna was just seven, and now, ten years later, has suddenly died. Shawna
doesnt know how to feel. She cant be especially mournful about the loss of a
mother whom she hardly knew, especially a self-centered mother who abandoned
her.

However, things begin to fall
apart in everyones lives when Shawnas father, a control freak with anger
management issues, insists on staking genetic claim on the son whom he never
knew he had, a son whom Shawnas mother tried to pass off as Frans. Shawnas
father is determined to get his way, even if it meets using or hurting a dozen
people in the process, including those close to him. Shawna has lived under his
control all his life, but now just might be the time for her to take a stance
and do what SHE believes is right.

Jeannine Garsee tackles the
difficult subjects of homosexuality, homophobia, and family loyalty in SAY THE
WORD. In particular, I found the family loyalty issue most striking. Its incredibly
difficult for an author to create a despicable character who we want to beat
the crap out of, yet still empathize and understand where hes coming from. Mr.
Gallagher, and, to a lesser extent, Shawna, are two such characters. Theyre
flawed, sometimes with unadmirable points of view or attitudes, and yet you
cant help but feel for them, cant help but understand where theyre coming
from, even as you wish for them to grow up.

I feel like the issue of
homophobia could have been discussed more in-depth, and I certainly wasnt
satisfied with the blasé way in which Shawnas sex life was treated. The
characters of Shawna, her dad, Schmule, and even Shawnas friend LeeLee were
well developed, but something was missing in Shawnas budding friendship withand
later, romantic attraction to Arye. That came out of nowhere, and I found
myself unable to understand their relationship.

Even with those small complaints,
I found SAY THE WORD to be an overall good read, perfect for fans of Sarah
Dessen and Elizabeth Scott.