Spotlight Review:

NO MATTER WHAT – Janice Kay Johnson
Harlequin Super Romance
ISBN: 978-0-373-71807-8
September 2012
Contemporary Romance

West Fork, Washington - Present Day

Being the vice principal of the high school is sometimes a problem for Molly Callahan, especially when she has to discipline students. Trevor Ward is in trouble again. Two fights in the last week force Molly to suspend him for a few days. Now her fifteen year old daughter, Caitlyn, is angry with her mother. Cait has always been the perfect child until the recent upsets regarding Trevor with whom she is madly in love. The seventeen year old Trevor is six foot three, with brooding good looks. He was an excellent student both academically and in sports until he moved in with his father. Richard isn't quite sure how to handle his son who has been with him for the past four weeks after his mother called needing help. Although Richard puts restrictions on Trevor, it makes Trevor more sullen.

Trevor talks Cait into having sex, and although she cares about him, she later decides she really wants a normal boy/girl relationship without the intimacy. He gets angry and breaks up with her. Molly wonders where her sweet, perfect daughter has gone. Now Cait barely speaks to her. Can things get any worse? The answer to that question is yes, they can, when Cait turns up pregnant.

Richard is attracted to Molly, but before he can ask her out, everything hits the fan and they have a serious problem on their hands.

NO MATTER WHAT deals with a parent's worse nightmare, with no easy answers. Molly and Richard want their children to do the right thing, but what is the right thing for them? Difficult decisions must be made. Readers aren't sure why Trevor is so angry, but Richard hopes he will get his life back on track. Cait has to grapple with what is right for her at this time in her life, and the parents must stand back and help their children through a very difficult time. All the while things are sizzling between the adults—how will their children react to that?

Ms. Johnson has written a fascinating book in NO MATTER WHAT. She often writes about social problems along with an enriching tale of redemption and love, and this one is no exception. The story moves along at an excellent pace with good dialogue and realistic characters. It is poignant, heart warming, and another winner for Janice Kay Johnson.

Marilyn Heyman