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If you’ve ever watched a teen movie or teen-centered television show, then the basic plot of Joyce Maynard’s newest novel, Under the Influence, is nothing new. The main character, dissatisfied with their life, meets a group of new friends who show them everything they seem to be missing. The main character wants to impress and be like this mysterious clique and they soon find themselves slowly turning their back on old friends and loved ones, in an attempt to get closer to their new, cooler friends. But eventually, the bottom falls out and these friends turn out to not be all that they've claimed to be.

However, using that framework as the sole description of Maynard’s new novel would be doing it a huge injustice. First, Helen McCabe, the protagonist of Under the Influence, is by no means a teenager. Instead, she is a woman in her late 30s seeking to regain custody of her son after a DUI charge causes the courts to decide he would be better off with his father. Helen finds herself working several dead-end jobs and getting nowhere trying to date after her husband leaves her for another woman. Then Helen meets the Havillands, a well-to-do couple who stand in as the family she’s never had.

They take her under their wing and shower her with expensive gifts and hand-me-downs. Helen finds herself at the top of the guest list for all their extravagant parties and they even embrace her young son, Ollie, who is softened by the perks of his mother having rich friends and begins spending more time with Helen. Helen’s love life even seems to take a turn for the better when she meets a self-described fuddy-duddy named Elliot, whom she falls for. Unfortunately, Elliot fails to impress the Havillands. Helen finds herself increasingly torn between pleasing her new friends and choosing what her heart wants and she soon learns that the friendship of the Havillands may come at a higher cost than she is prepared to pay.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions and Maynard’s book does an excellent job of illustrating how this can be so. There is a distinct beauty in the subtle way that Under the Influence escalates. From Helen’s drinking to the feeling that something isn’t quite right about the Havillands, you aren’t completely sure whether or not tragedy is around the corner. It doesn’t seem that the actions taken by the characters are drastic enough to cause something bad to happen, but you find yourself on the edge of your seat anyway, becoming more and more aware of the slow buildup of events taking place. By the time catastrophe strikes, you aren’t completely prepared but aren’t totally surprised either.

Maynard also uses her writing as a mirror for her readers, asking us to reflect on the different forms excesses can take, whether it is a clandestine glass (or more) of wine at night after our kids are in bed, or a desire for approval that trumps all reason. In fact, this mirror is so powerful that Maynard herself chose to give up her own indulgence in a glass (or three) of wine while writing the book. From beginning to end, the book is intriguing, heartbreaking and almost frightening as you start to see yourself and your tendencies in the characters, wondering if you are under the influence of something yourself–something you may believe to be totally harmless.

Most impressive of all, however, is the protagonist Helen McCabe, an undeniably flawed and at times downright selfish woman who–despite the obviousness of her imperfections–remains unambiguously sympathetic and likeable as she struggles to reassemble her family. You feel her frustration as her husband makes no effort to help her maintain a relationship with her son, her sadness as her relationship with Ollie becomes increasingly distant and you understand why she gravitates so much toward the Havillands, which makes it all the more painful when the truth about them comes out. It is often said that some people are meant to stay in your life for eternity and some people are only meant to be part of your life for a season. With Under the Influence, Maynard shows the danger of trying to make permanent people out of seasonal people and also that there is a right way and a wrong way to redeem yourself after a mistake. Ultimately, though, Maynard’s  story is one about love and the different forms it can take, whether it is being in love with the idea of something, the love between a mother and child, unrequited love or, most importantly, self-love.

Joyce Maynard is the author of eight previous novels, including To Die For, Labor Day,

The Good Daughters, as well as four books of nonfiction. Her bestselling memoir, At

Home in the World, has been translated into sixteen languages. She lives in California.

www.joycemaynard.com

Facebook: /joycemaynardauthor

Twitter: @ joycemaynard

-Bio courtesy of Corinne De Palma, CDPR