Week 13: New Adult: The Last Resort by Marissa Stapley
Author: Marissa Stapley
Title: The Last Resort
Genre: New Adult,
Psychological suspense
Publication Date:
June 18, 2019
Number of Pages:
368
Geographic Setting:
The Harmony Resort in the Mayan Riviera, Mexico
Plot Summary: Couples
with marriages on the rocks visit a two-week marriage boot camp in the Mayan
Riviera run by Drs. Grace and Miles Markell. This “last resort” may be exactly
that for some of these marriages. This novel follows the story of three couples
with their own unique traumas.
Johanna and Ben have not been married long. Johanna is
beautiful and unpredictable, but she is hiding the truth from even herself. Ben
has a tight grip on the situation. Maybe too tight.
Shell and Colin fight even at check-in. Colin is attached to
his phone constantly, running his mining company remotely, even though he is
supposed to give up his phone. Shell has a history with alcohol and trauma from
a car accident that took the couple’s daughter.
It turns out the fabulous Grace and Miles Markell have relationship
issues of their own. When the couples are trapped by a storm, secrets start
coming out.
Subject Headings:
Man-woman relationships – Fiction
Contemporary Women - Fiction
Marriage Counseling - Fiction
Family Life – Fiction
Resorts – Fiction
Secrecy - Fiction
Appeal:
Story Line: Intricately Plotted, Layered, Tangled
“Story lines tend to flow the contours of contemporary genre
romance novels, but starring younger characters,” (Brookover et al., 2014, p. 42).
Pacing: The pacing is measured. This book has young adult
characters but also has the pacing of a psychological suspense fiction book.
“New adult —a genre that includes books that are a step up
from YA and that has also been referred to as upper YA, crossover fiction,
coming-of-age fiction, and mature YA” (Cataldi, 2015, para. 1). This book is a
cross over between different genres.
Characterization: Character-driven. Slowly well-developed.
“Readers are kept at a distance, placed on the fringes of
the action, observing the characters rather than participating in their
plights” (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019, p. 37). This is because most of the story
is told through the point of view of a psychologist, who only sees her patients
as hour at a time. That timer keeps interrupting patients and preventing them
from telling the whole truth about their pasts.
Frame: A disturbed mind in a beautiful setting.
“A character might suffer from amnesia or the blackouts of
alcoholism” (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019, p. 38). In the case of Miles Markell,
it is a messiah complex and alcoholism.
Tone: Suspenseful
Readers of psychological suspense enjoy the “slowly dawning
realization that doom is unavoidable, the dark thrill in understanding that a
rescue will not be forthcoming” (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019, ps. 35-36).
3 Terms that best
describe the book: Psychological, Marriage, Coming of age
3 Relevant Fiction Works:
(Click on the book covers to search WorldCat for holdings
near you)
Every Vow You Break
by Peter Swanson
Swanson, P. (2021). Every
Vow You Break. New York: Harper Collins.
Common appeals: Marriage, Suspense, Man-woman relationships
A Stranger on the
Beach by Michele Campbell
Campbell, M. (2019). A
Stranger on the Beach. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
Common appeals: Marriage, Suspense, Betrayal
Nine Perfect Strangers
by Liane Moriarty
Moriarty, L. (2018). Nine
Perfect Strangers. New York: Macmillan.
Common appeals: Marriage, Suspense, Man-woman relationships
3 Relevant Nonfiction
Works:
(Click on the book covers to search WorldCat for holdings near you)
I Didn’t Sign Up For
This by Tracy Dalgleish
Dalgleish, T. (2023). I didn't sign up for this: a
couples therapist shares real-life stories of breaking patterns and finding joy
in relationships ... including her own. Eau Claire, WI: PESI Publishing.
Common appeals: Marriage, man-woman relationships, Marriage
counselor
The Seven Principles
for Making Marriage Work: A Practical Guide from the Country's Foremost
Relationship Expert by John Gottman
Gottman, J. (2022). The
seven principles for making marriage work: A practical guide from the country's
foremost relationship expert. Crown Publishers.
Common appeals: Marriage, man-woman relationships, Marriage
counselor
How We Love: A Revolutionary Approach to Deeper Connections
in Marriage by Milan Yerkovich
Yerkovich, M., & Yerkovich, K. (2006). How we love: a revolutionary approach to
deeper connections in marriage (First edition.). WaterBrook Press.
Common appeals: Marriage, man-woman relationships, Interpersonal
conflict
References
Brookover, S., Burns, E., & Jensen, K. (2014). What’s new
about new adult? Horn Book Magazine,
90(1), 41–45.
Cataldi, E. (2015). Betwixt and between: new adult fiction. Library Journal. https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/betwixt-and-between-new-adult-fiction-collection-development-september-1-2015
Stapley, M. (2019). The
Last Resort. Graydon House.
Wyatt, N. & Saricks, J. G. (2019). The readers' advisory
guide to genre fiction: Third edition. American Library Association.
Excellent annotation! You really killed it on the appeals. This is not a title I am familiar with and am super intrigued now! Great work!
ReplyDeleteJackie,
ReplyDeleteI think it's fabulous that you found a new adult title that includes marriage, because we often tend to assume (in this time period, anyway) that people aren't getting married at that age. Many are though, and they need to feel represented too. Your non-fiction recommendations impressed me, because I can see readers relating to the characters' experiences and trying to find help for their own marriage.