Critical Praise

"From our petulant, prideful heroine to her sullen-yet-saintly son, each character’s complexities shine..."

"That [Mitchard] takes emotional family events and makes something fresh yet familiar about them is what keeps her readers returning and her bestseller status shiny. THE BREAKDOWN LANE...should do nothing to dull that sheen."

"Mitchard’s work...is filled with vivid characters who live out loud, and in vibrant color."

"Rousing melodrama; fluid, often funny, dialogue; and the convincing portrayal of children involved in the collapse of a marriage add up to another page-turner from Mitchard."

"THE BREAKDOWN LANE takes the reader on a journey of love and loss, self-discovery and synergy, a satisfying story about determining which of the signposts of our lives we should follow."

"Mitchard dissects feelings of loyalty, betrayal and guilt with such aplomb, the book moves along like a thriller."

"Mitchard is a snappy writer with a deft eye for comedy and family foibles...Her tale of an imploding American family will rule the beaches this summer and provide fodder for a first-class weeper down the road."

"...An intriguing study of a quintessential American family...[a] thought-provoking, introspective novel."

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