Review of Three-Point Turn

[ALynnPowers]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Three-Point Turn" by Caitlin Dunseith.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Three-Point Turn by Caitlin Dunseith is a fictional novel that tells the story of three strangers whose lives intersect at a small motel diner. Thirty-year-old Tom has plans to meet up with the girl he is sure he wants to spend the rest of his life with, even though their relationship has been rocky for a while. Twenty-two-year-old Jacqueline is celebrating an anniversary with her boyfriend, whom she has unhappily settled for, but she’s just discovered that she is pregnant. Fifty-something-year-old Richard, the grumpy French-Canadian with the prosthetic leg, is in town for his daughter’s graduation. When the three strangers show up at the motel diner at the same time for breakfast, a chatty local man, Gus, engages them in conversation. The three of them can’t help being drawn in to the man’s own story and how it relates to their own lives. Perhaps this conversation with Gus is the turning point that all of them needed.

The bulk of the present moment of the story takes place over a single breakfast as Tom, Jacqueline, and Richard have a (mostly unwanted) conversation with Gus. However, the majority of the story is told as flashbacks in each of the three main characters’ lives and what events led them to the motel on this particular morning. Tom’s problems began with high expectations from his family, leading him to make morally questionable decisions. The divorce of Jacqueline’s parents tore her family apart and left her in troubling financial situations. Richard suffered from untreated depression that eventually led to the loss of his leg; the serious truth of his past has been kept secret from his wife since he met her. Seeing how these three people, who are completed unrelated to each other, came together in this diner was a very interesting fusion of events. It was like getting three stories in one.

Unfortunately, I found the present part of the story to be a bit redundant. Each time the perspective switched from one character to another, the scene would replay from that character’s point of view. While it made sense the first couple of times to introduce the characters into the setting, a chunk of a scene from the diner would be repeated three times, one after each flashback, without any new information being added. I could almost guess what another character’s reaction would be, but I had to wait until the perspective shifted to that character before that reaction was revealed. Because of the redundancy of the diner scenes, it was a bit tedious to read through those parts multiple times.

What I especially loved about the story was the way that the characters were so well-defined, even when there were three of them to share the main spotlight. Each character had his or her own personality and characteristics with a unique backstory. I especially liked how there were no “perfect” characters. Tom earns his money from not-so-legal sources, Jacqueline is completely unable to see anything good in her relationship, and Richard just comes across as a miserable, old man. There is definitely a theme of “not judging a book by its cover” going on in this book. Each character is a lot deeper than they appear on the outside

Overall, I give this book a rating of 3 out of 4 stars. I loved the portrayal of the characters and their backstories that brought them to the present moment in the diner. If the diner scenes could have been presented a little differently without so much repetition, I would have enjoyed the book a bit more. As it is, the redundancy threw off the pacing of the book and interrupted the more entertaining backstories. It was the backstories that kept me reading for hours. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys realistic fiction. There are many instances of profanity but only a few scenes of a graphic nature. With only two very minor errors throughout the book, the writing itself is excellent.

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Three-Point Turn
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[El_limitless]

Interesting plot. It would be great to find out how the three strangers continue after the motel diner. Great review.

[Becca Olsson]

I really like the idea of this book. I hope the author figures out how to address the redundancy because I’d be very interested in reading a later version of this book. Thanks for the great review!

[Kira Bonita Reece]

Stories that are told through flashbacks are very intriguing. Judging from your review this is a great book to dive into. Thanks for the review

[MsH2k]

I like the premise of this book, and I would enjoy getting to know the characters’ stories. I don’t think the redundancy at the diner would bother me. Thanks to your heads-up, I would be prepared for the bumpy transitions. Thank you for a wonderful review!

[Adelle v]

I like the idea of this book, the flashbacks gives a more depth to the story. Thanks for a great review.