#41 [2022/CBR14] The Unseen World by Liz Moore

I forget if it was me or my husband who first read Long Bright River by Liz Moore, but I do remember that I saw it on Barack Obama's recommended reading from 2020. I was very impressed by Long Bright River, so when my husband encouraged me to read The Unseen World (2016) by Moore, I eventually got around to it. I found The Unseen World to be interesting and well written. I was surprised by how different it was from Long Bright River, but the characters and setting still felt very real.

The story centers around Ada Sibelius, a young girl growing up in Boston with her father, David. David directs a computer-science lab where he works on something like a Chatbot with artificial intelligence. This takes place in the 1980's, so they are working on some cutting-edge technology. Ada has a very unconventional childhood with her father, going to work with him everyday, and always surrounded by intellectual adults. She loves her life, but then her father starts having memory issues and her world disintegrates around her.

When David is no longer able to care for her, Ada goes to live with his co-worker, Liston--trying out school for the first time as well. As different as Liston is from David, she's a very caring woman who wants to do her best for Ada. But some things come up that make it seem that David was not honest with Ada about who he was. 

Ada has to struggle with normal angsty teenage hormones, trying to fit into the cliques of school from scratch, dealing with her father's illness, and wondering how he might have lied to her. I thought Moore did an especially good job with the character of Ada--I could fully relate to her and she felt real to me. Perhaps because my own father is going through something similar, it really hit home.

Although Long Bright River is still my favorite from Moore, I was interested and impressed with this novel. It was well written and memorable.

***SPOILERS***In the end, we find out that David changed his name and life during the McCarthy era when they were aggressively ferreting out "communists" and homosexuals. David was gay, and he lost his job and any chance at the life he wanted. Instead, he faked his death and took over the identity of a friend with the help of the dean at the college. Ada eventually finds out everything. ***END SPOILERS***