Prime Meridian

Linda Emma
Alexandra Michael Publishing (2009)
ISBN 9780982051863
Reviewed by Marcy Blesy for Reader Views (12/09)

 

“Prime Meridian” by Linda Emma is the fictional account of Jenna, a young woman, married with a child, settled into her suburban small-town lifestyle, who discovers that maybe she isn’t as settled as she thought she was.  Jenna brings experience and intelligence to her job as a small-town journalist.  One day, the national coverage of the death of her college/post-college love Danny, a photojournalist killed on assignment in Iraq, uproots her simple, predictable life. 
     
Danny and Jenna’s relationship teetered between distant and passionate.  He pushed Jenna to fight for important causes and encouraged her talent in journalism.  Their on/off relationship kept Danny in and out of her life for many years during her young adult life.   Eventually Jenna married Kevin, another fellow college suitor.
         
Upon learning of Danny’s death, Jenna starts to retreat from her known life, including her husband.  She finds herself drawn by the attention of a fellow journalist, wondering if she will make the ultimate betrayal.  Finally, a meeting with a recent contact in Danny’s life helps her to understand how she deified him and allows her to reassess what she has in her own life. 
         
Throughout the book, Jenna investigates news stories that are woven into the story.  Her experiences in the advertising world are also explored.   One acquires an understanding of the professionalism that Jenna displays in the workforce. 
      
The characters are well-developed, and the plot keeps the reader interested.  What I found a bit confusing at times, was the structure of the book.  Ms. Emma changes the time between chapters.   One chapter may be a current rendering of the story followed by a story from the college setting or after college setting only to return to current times.  While the stories were interesting and I enjoyed the book, it took me a few seconds at the start of each chapter to reorient myself to where the characters were in that chapter.  Therefore, the pacing of the story was a bit choppy.  I don’t want the reader to pass on the book, though.  “Prime Meridian” held my interest to the end.  Ms. Emma has great plot and characters.  You will find yourself rooting for Jenna to be content in her life.

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