The Children Act

  It's weird.  I have nothing bad to say about this book.  In fact, I have a ton of good things to say about it.  It's a well-written story about interesting characters doing intriguing things.  McEwan is obviously a brilliant writer and his general knowledge of how to compose a tale is fully on display here.  The three main characters of Fiona, Jack and Adam all feel fleshed-out and you want to know what will happen to them throughout the book.  The basic premise is gripping and McEwan totally delivers on it.  You can write plenty of interesting papers about Fiona's journey throughout the book or debate whether Adam and his parents are in the right.     In every way a novel can be good, The Children Act is good.  But it's almost so good that it's boring?  It's like the perfect example of how to write a story.  If English professors around the world haven't picked this one for their syllabi I'd be absolutely floored.  This is not a bad thing at all, it's just... too textbook for me to really love it and feel enchanted by it.