What do you think?
Rate this book
A Mentor and Her Muse
Under the guise of mentor and muse, a frustrated writer and her ambitious teenage protégé take an illicit summer road trip fraught with racial and sexual tension. This is a compelling psychological novel about social norms, artistic ambition, and obsession.
Maggie Barnett works in the media center of a school in Flint, Michigan where she meets Taezha Riverton, an aspiring teenage writer. After discovering that Maggie is also a writer, Taezha turns to her as both mentor and friend.
Alone and childless, it's not enough for Maggie to take Tae to upscale restaurants and poetry readings; she has a more far-reaching vision. Although Tae’s mother has nothing against Maggie, she is less than thrilled when Maggie proposes to take her daughter on a summer road trip. Permission is never explicitly granted, but shortly after school is out for the summer, Maggie and Tae head for the Southeast.
Tae’s mother insists that Maggie return Tae to Flint, but Maggie instead takes Tae to a remote cabin outside Asheville, North Carolina. Growing evermore emotionally unsound, Maggie clings to the belief that living close to nature is the perfect therapy for her doubts and insecurities. Yet her role as mentor has now been supplanted to that of a drill sergeant, causing Tae to have serious misgivings...
Maggie Barnett works in the media center of a school in Flint, Michigan where she meets Taezha Riverton, an aspiring teenage writer. After discovering that Maggie is also a writer, Taezha turns to her as both mentor and friend.
Alone and childless, it's not enough for Maggie to take Tae to upscale restaurants and poetry readings; she has a more far-reaching vision. Although Tae’s mother has nothing against Maggie, she is less than thrilled when Maggie proposes to take her daughter on a summer road trip. Permission is never explicitly granted, but shortly after school is out for the summer, Maggie and Tae head for the Southeast.
Tae’s mother insists that Maggie return Tae to Flint, but Maggie instead takes Tae to a remote cabin outside Asheville, North Carolina. Growing evermore emotionally unsound, Maggie clings to the belief that living close to nature is the perfect therapy for her doubts and insecurities. Yet her role as mentor has now been supplanted to that of a drill sergeant, causing Tae to have serious misgivings...
266 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2018
6 people are currently reading
332 people want to read
About the author
Susan E. Sage
4 books296 followers Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Susan E. Sage is an American novelist and poet. Three of her books are published with a fourth to be released in December 2024. She has received has received the Literary Titan Book Award for her novel, DANCING IN THE RING. It was also a 2024 finalist in the Global Book Awards, and a 2023 finalist in the American Writing Awards.
Susan received an English degree from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. During her college years, she began publishing her poetry, and was a recipient of WSU’s Tompkins Award in Creative Writing.
After moving to the Flint area, she became a certified teacher in Language Arts, and also completed graduate coursework at the University of Michigan-Flint. An educator for over twenty years, Susan has worn many hats: an adult education teacher, educational coordinator, as well as an academic interventionist at both the elementary and secondary levels. During her years at Carman-Ainsworth High School, she served as both sponsor of the creative writing club, as well as editor of its annual magazine. She has also been active in a group of local authors, Writers as Instructors.
Her novels include INSOMINY (2010), A MENTOR AND HER MUSE (2018), and DANCING IN THE RING (2023). Susan's fourth novel, SILVER LADY, will be available for pre-order in the fall of 2024.
Susan enjoys travelling and stargazing. She lives in Flushing, Michigan, with her husband, Tom, and two cats. They have a daughter, Sarah, who is also an author.
Susan E. Sage is an American novelist and poet. Three of her books are published with a fourth to be released in December 2024. She has received has received the Literary Titan Book Award for her novel, DANCING IN THE RING. It was also a 2024 finalist in the Global Book Awards, and a 2023 finalist in the American Writing Awards.
Susan received an English degree from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. During her college years, she began publishing her poetry, and was a recipient of WSU’s Tompkins Award in Creative Writing.
After moving to the Flint area, she became a certified teacher in Language Arts, and also completed graduate coursework at the University of Michigan-Flint. An educator for over twenty years, Susan has worn many hats: an adult education teacher, educational coordinator, as well as an academic interventionist at both the elementary and secondary levels. During her years at Carman-Ainsworth High School, she served as both sponsor of the creative writing club, as well as editor of its annual magazine. She has also been active in a group of local authors, Writers as Instructors.
Her novels include INSOMINY (2010), A MENTOR AND HER MUSE (2018), and DANCING IN THE RING (2023). Susan's fourth novel, SILVER LADY, will be available for pre-order in the fall of 2024.
Susan enjoys travelling and stargazing. She lives in Flushing, Michigan, with her husband, Tom, and two cats. They have a daughter, Sarah, who is also an author.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
March 19, 2022
Ordinary-seeming Maggie Barnett wears several hats in her position at Jefferson Middle & High School in Flint, Michigan, where she befriends a student, Taezha (Tae) Riverton. A shared love of writing nourishes their fellowship. Maggie sees Tae as her mirror image and believes that their spirits dance, spin and leap in recognition.
Tae, a young black girl, lives with her three sisters and their mother, Quintana. Despite financial insecurity and her abuse of drugs and alcohol, Quintana encourages her daughters to get a good education and the girls know they are loved. Tae is confident, beautiful, intellectually curious and a gifted writer.
Maggie is white, childless and never married, has had some success with one published novel but, now in her fifties, lacks confidence and purpose. ‘When one turns fifty, one more or less realises how life has turned out, even though it is (hopefully) far from over.’
Tae was close to Quintana’s late sister, Serafina, and corresponds with Tyler, an old flame of Serafina. Tyler lives near Monroe, North Carolina on a 40-acre homestead. Without explicit consent from Quintana, Maggie, at 52, proposes to a 15-year-old Tae a road trip to Munroe to meet Tyler. Tae needs little persuasion and they begin their journey, stalked by the mysterious Sulie Rowen.
Maggie tells herself that she aims to expand Tae’s horizons and give her opportunities. She sees herself as Tae’s mentor and Tae as her muse. They will enrich each other’s life; inspiration will come and they will write. Their destination is Munroe, but their journey is with whomsoever they travel.
En route, Susan Sage drip-feeds Maggie’s backstory. We learn of Maggie’s transitory relationships with men, being overshadowed by a sister who is the only constant in her life, her kleptomania, her miscarriages and termination of pregnancy, how her parents overdosed in a suicide pact rather than move into assisted accommodation and her own suicidal thoughts.
As we explore the psychology of the characters, we probe the darkest corners of Maggie’s mind. She is driven by internal conflict, obsession and a yearning to be needed. By the time she throws Tae’s cell phone to the bottom of a pond for spending too much time texting, the muse is not enjoying her mentor’s attention, finding her confusing and unpredictable. Tension seethes until the last page.
I have seen ‘A Mentor and Her Muse’ referred to as a ‘psychological thriller’. For what it’s worth, I think it fits more comfortably in the ‘psychological realism’ genre.
I found it fascinating to contemplate why Maggie does what she does and how it affects Tae. There is much left to the speculation of the reader — not least of which, the question: is Tae a mentored student or a victim?
Tae, a young black girl, lives with her three sisters and their mother, Quintana. Despite financial insecurity and her abuse of drugs and alcohol, Quintana encourages her daughters to get a good education and the girls know they are loved. Tae is confident, beautiful, intellectually curious and a gifted writer.
Maggie is white, childless and never married, has had some success with one published novel but, now in her fifties, lacks confidence and purpose. ‘When one turns fifty, one more or less realises how life has turned out, even though it is (hopefully) far from over.’
Tae was close to Quintana’s late sister, Serafina, and corresponds with Tyler, an old flame of Serafina. Tyler lives near Monroe, North Carolina on a 40-acre homestead. Without explicit consent from Quintana, Maggie, at 52, proposes to a 15-year-old Tae a road trip to Munroe to meet Tyler. Tae needs little persuasion and they begin their journey, stalked by the mysterious Sulie Rowen.
Maggie tells herself that she aims to expand Tae’s horizons and give her opportunities. She sees herself as Tae’s mentor and Tae as her muse. They will enrich each other’s life; inspiration will come and they will write. Their destination is Munroe, but their journey is with whomsoever they travel.
En route, Susan Sage drip-feeds Maggie’s backstory. We learn of Maggie’s transitory relationships with men, being overshadowed by a sister who is the only constant in her life, her kleptomania, her miscarriages and termination of pregnancy, how her parents overdosed in a suicide pact rather than move into assisted accommodation and her own suicidal thoughts.
As we explore the psychology of the characters, we probe the darkest corners of Maggie’s mind. She is driven by internal conflict, obsession and a yearning to be needed. By the time she throws Tae’s cell phone to the bottom of a pond for spending too much time texting, the muse is not enjoying her mentor’s attention, finding her confusing and unpredictable. Tension seethes until the last page.
I have seen ‘A Mentor and Her Muse’ referred to as a ‘psychological thriller’. For what it’s worth, I think it fits more comfortably in the ‘psychological realism’ genre.
I found it fascinating to contemplate why Maggie does what she does and how it affects Tae. There is much left to the speculation of the reader — not least of which, the question: is Tae a mentored student or a victim?
February 6, 2018
First, let me say “bravo” to Susan Sage. She has written an excellent novel. Her writing is beautiful, crisp, and refreshing. A Mentor and Her Muse courageously explores issues of age, love, race, sex, and freedom. Sage quite naturally shows us the closeness and distance of relationships, and the growth that happens as a result of striving for balance and holding on to others.
Maggie Barnett, a 52 year-old teacher and frustrated writer, works in the media center at a high school in Flint, Michigan. She is a restless spirit, with loss and regrets in her past. In a calculated fashion, she chooses Taezha, a budding teenage writer, to mentor. Their relationship is close, clever, sweet, and, at times, disturbing. Both characters are fully developed and dealing with real issues, some issues that rarely see the light of day in life or literature.
Tae comes from a broken home, filled with secrets and hardship. She is brave and trusting, and full of passion. She adores Maggie and blossoms in the attention that Maggie shows her. Some of that attention though, leaves Tae confused and disoriented. Sage skillfully weaves the dilemmas and questions of a teenager into Tae’s character as Tae grows into a young woman. And Tae has more than a normal bit of wonder and courage.
When Maggie’s mentoring of Tae turns into rescue, I couldn’t help but wonder who Maggie was rescuing: Tae or herself.
A Mentor and Her Muse is a rich emotional experience that is engaging from start to finish. I highly recommend it.
Maggie Barnett, a 52 year-old teacher and frustrated writer, works in the media center at a high school in Flint, Michigan. She is a restless spirit, with loss and regrets in her past. In a calculated fashion, she chooses Taezha, a budding teenage writer, to mentor. Their relationship is close, clever, sweet, and, at times, disturbing. Both characters are fully developed and dealing with real issues, some issues that rarely see the light of day in life or literature.
Tae comes from a broken home, filled with secrets and hardship. She is brave and trusting, and full of passion. She adores Maggie and blossoms in the attention that Maggie shows her. Some of that attention though, leaves Tae confused and disoriented. Sage skillfully weaves the dilemmas and questions of a teenager into Tae’s character as Tae grows into a young woman. And Tae has more than a normal bit of wonder and courage.
When Maggie’s mentoring of Tae turns into rescue, I couldn’t help but wonder who Maggie was rescuing: Tae or herself.
A Mentor and Her Muse is a rich emotional experience that is engaging from start to finish. I highly recommend it.
May 29, 2020
As a retired educator, I absolutely love(d) challenge. Working in an inner city, I taught all levels (before being permanently assigned to the AP Language Arts classes). Ms. Sage captures the breadth and scope of not one challenge but, indeed, many-some of which many would rather not tackle let alone discuss or create setting, plot, engaging bigger than life characters and explore their frailties, circumstances, obstacles, and arbitrary messages. It is a very profound and timely tale that is crisp in its detail and writing. Thought provoking and somewhat disturbing. It will captivate you. Highly recommended!
April 3, 2018
At first, I thought this was going to be a modern-day 'Lolita' and there is a bit of a ‘Lolita’ vibe throughout the story but it is far more complex than just a fleeting attraction or sense of sexual confusion. That is just one of many thematic instances. This book covers many important issues like racism, poverty, and addiction. Maggie is a complicated protagonist who has done a lot of living which offers unique insight to these issues.
It’s finely written, and I enjoyed the style and flow of the story, in addition to the characters who are night and day from each other. The dynamic between Maggie and her muse Tae is very unusual and blurs boundaries quite often. At times it’s maternal and at other times inappropriate, but it’s always interesting.
I enjoyed this book but I was very disappointed with the ending. I can’t tell you why without ruining it but let’s just say I was left unsatisfied and a little befuddled. This is the only reason why I had a hard time rating it. I want to give it a solid 4 stars but that ending makes me hesitant. Regardless it is a strong, interesting story and it will appeal to many readers.
Rating… B
It’s finely written, and I enjoyed the style and flow of the story, in addition to the characters who are night and day from each other. The dynamic between Maggie and her muse Tae is very unusual and blurs boundaries quite often. At times it’s maternal and at other times inappropriate, but it’s always interesting.
I enjoyed this book but I was very disappointed with the ending. I can’t tell you why without ruining it but let’s just say I was left unsatisfied and a little befuddled. This is the only reason why I had a hard time rating it. I want to give it a solid 4 stars but that ending makes me hesitant. Regardless it is a strong, interesting story and it will appeal to many readers.
Rating… B
April 30, 2019
Do not make assumptions about this book based on a quick glance at its lovely cover image, nor on its innocent-sounding title. A closer look at the cover will show you the truth of Susan Sage’s disturbing tale of obsession: a brick wall, and in it, a wooden door so crisscrossed with wiry vines that it cannot be opened.
Maggie is middle-aged and white, a writer whose promising career fizzled not long after she produced in her 30s a single, modestly successful novel. Childless and never married after a series of failed relationships, still reeling from the tragic loss of her parents, she takes a job at a school in Flint, Michigan, and soon forms a strong attachment to a black teenage girl named Taezha (or Tae), a gifted student with writerly talent. Maggie hatches an ill-advised plan to mentor Tae, intending to nurture the girl’s writing by taking her on an extended road trip, far away from her chaotic homelife. At the same time Maggie hopes to use Tae as a muse to inspire her own writing, which has languished for too long. Though Tae is initially a willing traveling companion, when the trip drags on she becomes increasingly ambivalent and sometimes even fearful, as Maggie’s need to control their relationship begins to isolate the two of them.
The story strongly reminded me of Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice, perhaps the quintessential tale of obsessive longing, and to my mind, A Mentor and Her Muse is a worthy successor. It’s a gripping book swirling with existentialist undercurrents, and reading it, I began to feel deeply unsettled. Sage reveals Maggie’s self-destructive behaviors in stages, so skillfully that at times the shock took my breath away. Using shifting points of view, the author is also careful to peel back slowly the layers of her other principal characters, so that when their true (and sometimes very unexpected) feelings were exposed, the emotional impact stunned me. I learned that for Maggie, doors are a powerful metaphor, making the door on the book’s cover even more fitting than I had supposed. Ultimately, doors are a means of escape, and can open to new paths and reinvention, all of which left me very satisfied with the book’s conclusion.
Susan Sage’s A Mentor and Her Muse is a compelling story well told, both a riveting psychological study and an accomplished work of literary fiction. Highly recommended.
Maggie is middle-aged and white, a writer whose promising career fizzled not long after she produced in her 30s a single, modestly successful novel. Childless and never married after a series of failed relationships, still reeling from the tragic loss of her parents, she takes a job at a school in Flint, Michigan, and soon forms a strong attachment to a black teenage girl named Taezha (or Tae), a gifted student with writerly talent. Maggie hatches an ill-advised plan to mentor Tae, intending to nurture the girl’s writing by taking her on an extended road trip, far away from her chaotic homelife. At the same time Maggie hopes to use Tae as a muse to inspire her own writing, which has languished for too long. Though Tae is initially a willing traveling companion, when the trip drags on she becomes increasingly ambivalent and sometimes even fearful, as Maggie’s need to control their relationship begins to isolate the two of them.
The story strongly reminded me of Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice, perhaps the quintessential tale of obsessive longing, and to my mind, A Mentor and Her Muse is a worthy successor. It’s a gripping book swirling with existentialist undercurrents, and reading it, I began to feel deeply unsettled. Sage reveals Maggie’s self-destructive behaviors in stages, so skillfully that at times the shock took my breath away. Using shifting points of view, the author is also careful to peel back slowly the layers of her other principal characters, so that when their true (and sometimes very unexpected) feelings were exposed, the emotional impact stunned me. I learned that for Maggie, doors are a powerful metaphor, making the door on the book’s cover even more fitting than I had supposed. Ultimately, doors are a means of escape, and can open to new paths and reinvention, all of which left me very satisfied with the book’s conclusion.
Susan Sage’s A Mentor and Her Muse is a compelling story well told, both a riveting psychological study and an accomplished work of literary fiction. Highly recommended.
September 25, 2021
Absolutely Fascinating!
“A Mentor and Her Muse” by Susan Sage is an enthralling and riveting psychological novel about obsession, self-identity, self-denial, and self-exploration. This is a coming-of-age story about a middle-aged writer, Maggie, and her teenage muse, Tae.
This stunning and highly intelligent novel is a fascinating and engaging read. The author’s plot, characters and dialogue lured me in immediately and unexpectedly. Susan Sage writes with both an authority and a command of language, her characters, and the plot.
I found this novel to be brilliant. The plot is incredibly layered and yet, the story is straightforward. There is a tension of polarities as the author deftly weaves issues of race, sexuality, cultural mores, societal and cultural taboos. The tension and bond between the two central characters, Maggie and Tae, is almost spellbinding. Interestingly, the supporting characters are equally as important and riveting as the two central characters.
I highly recommend this novel to those who love great writing, dialogue, and psychological novels. One of the most fascinating reads!
“A Mentor and Her Muse” by Susan Sage is an enthralling and riveting psychological novel about obsession, self-identity, self-denial, and self-exploration. This is a coming-of-age story about a middle-aged writer, Maggie, and her teenage muse, Tae.
This stunning and highly intelligent novel is a fascinating and engaging read. The author’s plot, characters and dialogue lured me in immediately and unexpectedly. Susan Sage writes with both an authority and a command of language, her characters, and the plot.
I found this novel to be brilliant. The plot is incredibly layered and yet, the story is straightforward. There is a tension of polarities as the author deftly weaves issues of race, sexuality, cultural mores, societal and cultural taboos. The tension and bond between the two central characters, Maggie and Tae, is almost spellbinding. Interestingly, the supporting characters are equally as important and riveting as the two central characters.
I highly recommend this novel to those who love great writing, dialogue, and psychological novels. One of the most fascinating reads!
Read
September 4, 2018A Mentor and Her Muse has one of the more unique plots I have encountered in contemporary fiction.
The protagonist, Maggie Barnett, is a middle-aged woman working in the media center of Jefferson School. Independently wealthy, she doesn’t need to work, but she cares about at-risk children, and her personal calling is to assist them in whatever way she can. At Jefferson, Maggie takes a particular interest in 12-year-old Taezha Riverton. She is aware of the adolescent's troubled home life, as well as her intelligence, talent, and longing to write.
Herself an author, Maggie is inspired and energized by the pre-teen’s interest and admiration. The two meet daily in school, and as time passes, Maggie allows Taezha into her life and home. While fraternizing with students outside of school is frowned upon by staff and administration, Taezha’s mother, Quintana, understands Maggie’s interest in her daughter and accepts the relationship, albeit a bit uneasily.
When Taezha turns 15, she and Maggie set off on a road trip over summer vacation. Maggie wants to introduce Taezha to the world of writers and writing and to broaden her experience of the world and her perception of herself. Part of the trip will be to North Carolina where the women will meet Tyler, Taezha’s uncle.
Taezha has never met Tyler, but due to his relationship with her favorite aunt, Serafina, the two have routinely corresponded over the years. Tragically, Serafina died under mysterious circumstances, and Taezha still mourns her.
As the trip progress, Maggie journals her thoughts and experiences and has Taezha do the same. Through Maggie’s journal entries we learn disturbing information about her family and multiple past relationships. We also learn that Maggie’s first and only novel, Pauline’s Revenge, brought her some initial professional success, only to later peter out. After interest in the first book faded, Maggie never wrote another. Some part of her fears she is a failed writer.
The trip becomes increasingly odd and ends up extending through the entirety of summer vacation and into the school year. Over Quintana’s growing protests, the two make their way to Tyler’s home in fits and starts, tailed by a mysterious woman who pops up at odd times along the way. Maggie’s journal reflects the strangeness of the trip and the evolving relationship between the mentor and her muse. It becomes a psychological study of an aging woman finally facing her past, her dreams and her fears, and discovering her personal truth. It is apparent that Taezha is Maggie’s muse because she represents a do-over, a fresh start—a budding talent that might be nurtured into greatness.
As Maggie struggles to reconcile her self-image with the truth of her past, we witness her attitudes, emotions, and even her appearance change. Will the mentor’s obsession with her muse lead her into creativity or madness?
The protagonist, Maggie Barnett, is a middle-aged woman working in the media center of Jefferson School. Independently wealthy, she doesn’t need to work, but she cares about at-risk children, and her personal calling is to assist them in whatever way she can. At Jefferson, Maggie takes a particular interest in 12-year-old Taezha Riverton. She is aware of the adolescent's troubled home life, as well as her intelligence, talent, and longing to write.
Herself an author, Maggie is inspired and energized by the pre-teen’s interest and admiration. The two meet daily in school, and as time passes, Maggie allows Taezha into her life and home. While fraternizing with students outside of school is frowned upon by staff and administration, Taezha’s mother, Quintana, understands Maggie’s interest in her daughter and accepts the relationship, albeit a bit uneasily.
When Taezha turns 15, she and Maggie set off on a road trip over summer vacation. Maggie wants to introduce Taezha to the world of writers and writing and to broaden her experience of the world and her perception of herself. Part of the trip will be to North Carolina where the women will meet Tyler, Taezha’s uncle.
Taezha has never met Tyler, but due to his relationship with her favorite aunt, Serafina, the two have routinely corresponded over the years. Tragically, Serafina died under mysterious circumstances, and Taezha still mourns her.
As the trip progress, Maggie journals her thoughts and experiences and has Taezha do the same. Through Maggie’s journal entries we learn disturbing information about her family and multiple past relationships. We also learn that Maggie’s first and only novel, Pauline’s Revenge, brought her some initial professional success, only to later peter out. After interest in the first book faded, Maggie never wrote another. Some part of her fears she is a failed writer.
The trip becomes increasingly odd and ends up extending through the entirety of summer vacation and into the school year. Over Quintana’s growing protests, the two make their way to Tyler’s home in fits and starts, tailed by a mysterious woman who pops up at odd times along the way. Maggie’s journal reflects the strangeness of the trip and the evolving relationship between the mentor and her muse. It becomes a psychological study of an aging woman finally facing her past, her dreams and her fears, and discovering her personal truth. It is apparent that Taezha is Maggie’s muse because she represents a do-over, a fresh start—a budding talent that might be nurtured into greatness.
As Maggie struggles to reconcile her self-image with the truth of her past, we witness her attitudes, emotions, and even her appearance change. Will the mentor’s obsession with her muse lead her into creativity or madness?
December 28, 2019
Maggie Barnett is a 52-year-old, high-school media teacher, with a history of kleptomaniac tendencies and a partiality for photographing doors. After years of drifting from state to state, in and out of failed relationships, Maggie has laid her hat down in Flint, Michigan.
Taezha is a spirited, ingenuous, talented 15-year-old teenager, who comes from a troubled home life where truth and paychecks are inconstant, but she loves to write: and she is good at it.
Maggie takes a very personal interest in Tae and purposefully pursues a relationship with her. Tae, never having had any attention, willingly accepts Maggie’s friendship. When Maggie offers to be Tae’s writing mentor and suggests they go on a summer road trip, Tae is elated.
As the miles take them further from Flint, the atmosphere between them fills with tension and awkwardness. At times, Tae finds Maggie watching her in a way that makes her uncomfortable and as much as she appreciates what Maggie is doing for her, Tae finds it unnerving. Maggie’s feelings for Tae are inexplicably complicated; possessive, passionate, motherly, controlling.
The road trip both reveals and confirms significant factors in Tae’s young life, which will challenge and influence her. While for Maggie, it leaves her unfulfilled and facing an uncertain direction. Like the doors she takes pictures of – either an entrance or an exit – she runs in and out of life with her blurred principles and inner struggles as her constant companions.
From the slow reveal of peeled back emotional layers to the unspoken, illicit sexual tension, Sage tells her story with skill. The emotions are thick and palpable on the pages - delivering Maggie’s psychologically complex emotions and her own brokenness, cleverly and with respectful perception. Tae’s inner struggle and confusion, guarded hesitancy and youthful zeal, were portrayed with authenticity.
Thought-provoking, probing and unconventional, A Mentor and Her Muse is a highly recommendable novel.
Thank you most sincerely to Susan Sage and Open Books, for the read of A Mentor and Her Muse.
My opinions expressed in my review are my own.
Taezha is a spirited, ingenuous, talented 15-year-old teenager, who comes from a troubled home life where truth and paychecks are inconstant, but she loves to write: and she is good at it.
Maggie takes a very personal interest in Tae and purposefully pursues a relationship with her. Tae, never having had any attention, willingly accepts Maggie’s friendship. When Maggie offers to be Tae’s writing mentor and suggests they go on a summer road trip, Tae is elated.
As the miles take them further from Flint, the atmosphere between them fills with tension and awkwardness. At times, Tae finds Maggie watching her in a way that makes her uncomfortable and as much as she appreciates what Maggie is doing for her, Tae finds it unnerving. Maggie’s feelings for Tae are inexplicably complicated; possessive, passionate, motherly, controlling.
The road trip both reveals and confirms significant factors in Tae’s young life, which will challenge and influence her. While for Maggie, it leaves her unfulfilled and facing an uncertain direction. Like the doors she takes pictures of – either an entrance or an exit – she runs in and out of life with her blurred principles and inner struggles as her constant companions.
From the slow reveal of peeled back emotional layers to the unspoken, illicit sexual tension, Sage tells her story with skill. The emotions are thick and palpable on the pages - delivering Maggie’s psychologically complex emotions and her own brokenness, cleverly and with respectful perception. Tae’s inner struggle and confusion, guarded hesitancy and youthful zeal, were portrayed with authenticity.
Thought-provoking, probing and unconventional, A Mentor and Her Muse is a highly recommendable novel.
Thank you most sincerely to Susan Sage and Open Books, for the read of A Mentor and Her Muse.
My opinions expressed in my review are my own.
May 4, 2018
A Confusing Trip of Discovery and Hope
I just finished reading this compelling psychological novel, A Mentor and Her Muse by Susan Sage. I found the cover of this book to be as thoughtful and provoking as the contents were creative and artistically written. The main character, Maggie a fifty-something frustrated writer works in the media center of a school in Michigan. At work is where she meets Tae, an ambitious teenager with a difficult home life. Tae is an inspiring writer and when she discovers that Maggie is also a writer she looks to her for guidance. Maggie becomes both mentor and friend. Although warned by coworkers against it, she spends time with her after school and on weekends. It's not enough for Maggie to take her muse to restaurants, bookstore cafes, and poetry readings so she proposes to take her on a summer road trip. Quintana, Tae's Mother, isn't happy about it but also doesn't say no, so shortly after school is out for the summer, Maggie and the fifteen-year-old head for the Southeast. Will the illicit summer road trip, tinged with racial and sexual tension, land Maggie in legal trouble? Will Maggie come through for Tae and save her from her misery while helping her develop as a writer? I enjoyed the vivid descriptions and emotional detail of the author's writing as she answered these questions and took me on the road trip along with Maggie and Tae. I would recommend this book to my friends and family as well as all others wanting to escape for a while with a well-rounded read.
I just finished reading this compelling psychological novel, A Mentor and Her Muse by Susan Sage. I found the cover of this book to be as thoughtful and provoking as the contents were creative and artistically written. The main character, Maggie a fifty-something frustrated writer works in the media center of a school in Michigan. At work is where she meets Tae, an ambitious teenager with a difficult home life. Tae is an inspiring writer and when she discovers that Maggie is also a writer she looks to her for guidance. Maggie becomes both mentor and friend. Although warned by coworkers against it, she spends time with her after school and on weekends. It's not enough for Maggie to take her muse to restaurants, bookstore cafes, and poetry readings so she proposes to take her on a summer road trip. Quintana, Tae's Mother, isn't happy about it but also doesn't say no, so shortly after school is out for the summer, Maggie and the fifteen-year-old head for the Southeast. Will the illicit summer road trip, tinged with racial and sexual tension, land Maggie in legal trouble? Will Maggie come through for Tae and save her from her misery while helping her develop as a writer? I enjoyed the vivid descriptions and emotional detail of the author's writing as she answered these questions and took me on the road trip along with Maggie and Tae. I would recommend this book to my friends and family as well as all others wanting to escape for a while with a well-rounded read.
February 1, 2018
The book’s narrative is exciting, enjoyable and well written, with each chapter, perspective and character voice distinctive from the others. I also appreciate the integration of the racial inequalities and prejudice present within society.
For me, the most enjoyable part of the book was the dynamic between Maggie and Tae; it is at times close, but in equal measure it can be electric and unpredictable. I found both of these characters to be incredibly relatable, even though they are both drastically different from one another. To master the depth of understanding required to properly articulate both of these characters, as Susan does, is an achievement worthy of recognition.
The differences between Maggie and Tae are set out early on. Maggie, now a fifty-something year old author, was brought up in wealthy and stable household – both of her parents were lawyers. Tae, our teenage protagonist, does not have this level of security at all – in fact, her mother Quintana struggles to pay the rent from month to month and raises a number of children, each demanding different levels of attention. The household is a chaotic comparison to Maggie’s upbringing; Tae, for the most part, shuts herself away in her room. It is from this unstable life that Maggie sweeps Tae away – and they go on a summer road trip! A writer’s retreat, as Maggie calls it.
Maggie assumes the role of mentor on the trip and through various “intimate” moments with Maggie’s thoughts (via her journal), we see the unstable side to her personality. Maggie is more dependent on Tae than perhaps she would like to admit, but her confessions about their relationship and her childhood explain why she wants to give Tae the opportunities she never had. Despite the best of intentions, Maggie is far from the perfect role model. There are concerns raised about the nature of her relationship with Tae, and in general for her welfare. When she discovers they are being followed… this tips her over the edge.
Their relationship is rocky, to say the least, as it transforms from a student/teacher semi-formal dynamic to a much closer one. At times they are on the same page, but gradually we see Tae beginning to write her own life story, and perhaps it was not the one Maggie had intended for her. The journey both Maggie and Tae take together can be interpreted as more important than the destination. The bond that forms between them is unique and the experience is a learning curve. As the trip comes to an end, it is evident that both Maggie and Tae have learned and matured from the experience of being around the other.
As a reader, you are absorbed into the story right away, experiencing the highs and lows of the trip as if you are tagging along with them! Again, I cannot highly commend Susan enough for her ability to step wholly into the shoes of Maggie or Tae, she keeps their identities definitively separate yet coherently pieces together the road trip from each perspective, with common themes.
Thanks again for the privilege of reading A Mentor and Her Muse – it is an enjoyable and captivating read!
For me, the most enjoyable part of the book was the dynamic between Maggie and Tae; it is at times close, but in equal measure it can be electric and unpredictable. I found both of these characters to be incredibly relatable, even though they are both drastically different from one another. To master the depth of understanding required to properly articulate both of these characters, as Susan does, is an achievement worthy of recognition.
The differences between Maggie and Tae are set out early on. Maggie, now a fifty-something year old author, was brought up in wealthy and stable household – both of her parents were lawyers. Tae, our teenage protagonist, does not have this level of security at all – in fact, her mother Quintana struggles to pay the rent from month to month and raises a number of children, each demanding different levels of attention. The household is a chaotic comparison to Maggie’s upbringing; Tae, for the most part, shuts herself away in her room. It is from this unstable life that Maggie sweeps Tae away – and they go on a summer road trip! A writer’s retreat, as Maggie calls it.
Maggie assumes the role of mentor on the trip and through various “intimate” moments with Maggie’s thoughts (via her journal), we see the unstable side to her personality. Maggie is more dependent on Tae than perhaps she would like to admit, but her confessions about their relationship and her childhood explain why she wants to give Tae the opportunities she never had. Despite the best of intentions, Maggie is far from the perfect role model. There are concerns raised about the nature of her relationship with Tae, and in general for her welfare. When she discovers they are being followed… this tips her over the edge.
Their relationship is rocky, to say the least, as it transforms from a student/teacher semi-formal dynamic to a much closer one. At times they are on the same page, but gradually we see Tae beginning to write her own life story, and perhaps it was not the one Maggie had intended for her. The journey both Maggie and Tae take together can be interpreted as more important than the destination. The bond that forms between them is unique and the experience is a learning curve. As the trip comes to an end, it is evident that both Maggie and Tae have learned and matured from the experience of being around the other.
As a reader, you are absorbed into the story right away, experiencing the highs and lows of the trip as if you are tagging along with them! Again, I cannot highly commend Susan enough for her ability to step wholly into the shoes of Maggie or Tae, she keeps their identities definitively separate yet coherently pieces together the road trip from each perspective, with common themes.
Thanks again for the privilege of reading A Mentor and Her Muse – it is an enjoyable and captivating read!
December 26, 2019
A Mentor and Her Muse by Susan Sage follows the journey of Maggie, a frustrated writer struggling with her own identity & what seems to be aching loneliness at the beginning. We are also introduced to Tae, a young girl who looks up to Maggie & struggles with her own inner problems. In order to bring the two together, Sage characterizes them over the course of a road trip. This proves to be an effective tool for exploring themes of self-esteem, trauma, & the ever-allusive fragments of hope.
I found the themes of trauma & hope compelling. Sage portrays human frailty & struggle realistically, and leads the reader to question why, as a species, we never stop searching for deeper meaning & purpose.
The book’s cover, and the final image of the door, is thought-provoking in its symbolism. Has Maggie seized each opportunity in her life, or contributed to her own sense of yearning & lack of fulfillment? Is a closed door really such a terrible thing, if one understands the beauty of the wide open & how much can be learned from these unrehearsed experiences?
A Mentor & Her Muse is a soul-searching read that connects with the very essence of what it means to be human. Highly recommend for readers who enjoy psychological tales of introspection.
I found the themes of trauma & hope compelling. Sage portrays human frailty & struggle realistically, and leads the reader to question why, as a species, we never stop searching for deeper meaning & purpose.
The book’s cover, and the final image of the door, is thought-provoking in its symbolism. Has Maggie seized each opportunity in her life, or contributed to her own sense of yearning & lack of fulfillment? Is a closed door really such a terrible thing, if one understands the beauty of the wide open & how much can be learned from these unrehearsed experiences?
A Mentor & Her Muse is a soul-searching read that connects with the very essence of what it means to be human. Highly recommend for readers who enjoy psychological tales of introspection.
April 21, 2018
Before you start reading A Mentor and Her Muse, be sure that you have no pressing appointments or must-do-right-away items on your schedule! Once I opened this book and read the first few chapters, I knew that it was going to be one of those novels I wouldn't want to put down until I had finished reading it. With that in mind, I curled up in bed in a Lionel Richie "Easy on Sunday Morning" kind of mood and settled in for Maggie's and Taezha's road trip. But even before they hit the highway, I began the ride with them...from the story's set-up at school through the flat lands and curvy mountain roads along the way. I am drawn into the forthright honesty with which Susan Sage draws you into an intimate journey of the the novel's two starring female characters at varying stages of their maturity and maturing lives. It's almost like sitting down with a best friend, empty wine bottle on the floor, sharing secrets of the heart no one else has heard but you! If Maggie was forced to choose only one line from Richie's "Easy", I imagine it would be: "I wanna be free to know the things I do are right."Can't you just hear the music playing in the background?
July 17, 2022
Obsession and Longing
Maggie, middle-aged and white has lost her ability to write after her first, moderately successful book. She works in the library at a school in Flint, Michigan.
Taezha (Tae) is a black teenager with a considerable writing talent. Her mother has several children and lives a chaotic life.
When Maggie and Tae meet, they inevitably form a connection as mentor and muse.
The central part of the novel is a road trip that Maggie undertakes together with Tae. There are faint allusions to Lolita in this, but Maggie is different from Humbert. Maggie is a tortured soul, obsessed with doors that she photographs everywhere. Her secret chamber never opens completely but her contemplations knock on the door from time to time. She is lost in dreams but doesn’t act them out. Tae is attracted to her mentor but also repelled. This creates tension between the two characters, and that is the real suspense in this flawless book.
Multiple points of view can be difficult to execute, but Susan Sage dissects her main characters in her exceptional rendition of an existentialist and somewhat troubling study.
Maggie, middle-aged and white has lost her ability to write after her first, moderately successful book. She works in the library at a school in Flint, Michigan.
Taezha (Tae) is a black teenager with a considerable writing talent. Her mother has several children and lives a chaotic life.
When Maggie and Tae meet, they inevitably form a connection as mentor and muse.
The central part of the novel is a road trip that Maggie undertakes together with Tae. There are faint allusions to Lolita in this, but Maggie is different from Humbert. Maggie is a tortured soul, obsessed with doors that she photographs everywhere. Her secret chamber never opens completely but her contemplations knock on the door from time to time. She is lost in dreams but doesn’t act them out. Tae is attracted to her mentor but also repelled. This creates tension between the two characters, and that is the real suspense in this flawless book.
Multiple points of view can be difficult to execute, but Susan Sage dissects her main characters in her exceptional rendition of an existentialist and somewhat troubling study.
February 26, 2018
‘I wouldn’t classify what I did as a crime, rather as a sort of vigilante justice', proclaims the intriguing opening line of A Mentor and Her Muse. Thus are we introduced to the moral and emotional uncertainties that haunt schoolteacher Maggie, the story’s central protagonist. They also haunt the novel itself, for good and ill.
Taezha (Tae) and Maggie both live in Flint, Michigan, a town whose fortunes declined precipitously when the auto industry shut up shop without a backward glance or moral scruple. Maggie is a white schoolteacher and prolific serial monogamist; Tae is a talented and beautiful black schoolgirl. Maggie has some money and freedom; Tae has little of either. Maggie’s parents killed themselves, and she herself once attempted suicide and is something of a kleptomaniac. Tae’s family circumstances are difficult and stressful; her mother, Quintana, is fickle and conflicted.
Maggie and Tae first meet when Tae is twelve, and Maggie is immediately smitten in ambiguous ways that are supposed gradually to untangle as the story unfolds. Tae is almost fifteen when Maggie takes her on a road trip, more or less with Quintana’s permission. This trip forms the spine of the story. ‘Tae is not Maggie’s Lolita!’ exclaims the authorial voice at one point, although Humbert Humbert’s travels with his underage victim have long since been evoked. Maggie cloaks her need to be with Tae in concealing clichés: ‘We both realized, without telling ourselves or each other at the time, that we needed each other as central players in our lives.’
Structurally, the novel alternates interestingly between third person and first, between Maggie’s journal entries (dating back decades to race riots in Detroit and tensions with her conservative parents) and Tae’s adolescent poems, with frequent changes of tense and perspective.
However, there is also a lot wrong with A Mentor and Her Muse, and its many problems are mutually reinforcing.
All authors have their little writerly tics and subconscious habits. The practice of writing necessarily includes constant effort to bring these habits to creative awareness. Only then can we place them under our command. Susan Sage has a lot of them, in my view, and they need to be disciplined. Together, they add up to a confusing and disappointing experience.
To begin with, the text could do with careful proofreading: there are more than enough errors to irritate the most patient reader. Missing words and garbled sentences abound; at one point, ‘eluded’ is used when ‘alluded’ is meant; a gazebo is severed into ‘two halves’.
Explanatory clauses and qualifying statements in parentheses (like this) run amuck, page after page. Throughout, swarms of self-referential questions infest passages of free indirect discourse, concluding paragraphs or else nesting in their midst. This overuse of an otherwise effective rhetorical device becomes wearing and predictable, so that it ceases to function. Eventually, about half-way through the book, they become merely amusing, as we wait for their inevitable arrival.
Themes of race and age, love and creativity struggle in vain for precise articulation throughout A Mentor and Her Muse. ‘What is this white woman up to?’ asks Tae of Maggie, but the question is hopelessly underdetermined. Maggie is, I think, meant to be taken seriously, but she is irritatingly naïve: ‘So I, too, have known something of racism and discovered what a hell on earth it truly is!’ For a middle-aged white woman like Maggie – no matter how observant, sensitive and ‘concerned’ – to make such a claim is frankly derisory, particularly as it is uttered after a marginally uncomfortable experience at a school committee meeting. Hell indeed.
A Mentor and Her Muse would benefit from a lot more dialogue. Assertions of states of affairs become dull and repetitive when they are used to the exclusion of so much else, depriving us of artistry and nuance. These assertions are hurled at the reader, many of them out of nowhere, and we have to take them on trust.
‘As much as Tyler wishes he could spend more time with Tae, it’s been amazing getting to know Maggie.’ There is precious little evidence for this amazement: if only Tyler had been allowed to say this for himself, so that we could see his feelings grow; if only we could know that his heart beat quicker and his eyes shone. But we don’t. Similarly with ‘More than once he’s thought about putting the place up for sale, much as he hated to even think of it.’ If he’d only expressed these doubts to someone, so we could see them evolve, then they would become real. But they’re not.
Maggie’s sister Caroline arrives for reasons best known to herself, at which point there is potential for conflict and dramatic interaction. Instead, we are provided with more dull exposition.
We don’t get to know any of these characters because they seldom reveal themselves in any other way. Thus, Sulie, a relatively marginal character, is a mix of personality traits and motivations that make her ridiculously unbelievable and incoherent. Maggie and Tae’s compulsion to write seems like empty and self-important posturing.
Every bit of information this stylistic approach conveys is given the same emotional weight. It fails to provide a path through the narrative: everything becomes equally unimportant, with no highs or lows, and the reader ceases to care. That’s a great shame.
Taezha (Tae) and Maggie both live in Flint, Michigan, a town whose fortunes declined precipitously when the auto industry shut up shop without a backward glance or moral scruple. Maggie is a white schoolteacher and prolific serial monogamist; Tae is a talented and beautiful black schoolgirl. Maggie has some money and freedom; Tae has little of either. Maggie’s parents killed themselves, and she herself once attempted suicide and is something of a kleptomaniac. Tae’s family circumstances are difficult and stressful; her mother, Quintana, is fickle and conflicted.
Maggie and Tae first meet when Tae is twelve, and Maggie is immediately smitten in ambiguous ways that are supposed gradually to untangle as the story unfolds. Tae is almost fifteen when Maggie takes her on a road trip, more or less with Quintana’s permission. This trip forms the spine of the story. ‘Tae is not Maggie’s Lolita!’ exclaims the authorial voice at one point, although Humbert Humbert’s travels with his underage victim have long since been evoked. Maggie cloaks her need to be with Tae in concealing clichés: ‘We both realized, without telling ourselves or each other at the time, that we needed each other as central players in our lives.’
Structurally, the novel alternates interestingly between third person and first, between Maggie’s journal entries (dating back decades to race riots in Detroit and tensions with her conservative parents) and Tae’s adolescent poems, with frequent changes of tense and perspective.
However, there is also a lot wrong with A Mentor and Her Muse, and its many problems are mutually reinforcing.
All authors have their little writerly tics and subconscious habits. The practice of writing necessarily includes constant effort to bring these habits to creative awareness. Only then can we place them under our command. Susan Sage has a lot of them, in my view, and they need to be disciplined. Together, they add up to a confusing and disappointing experience.
To begin with, the text could do with careful proofreading: there are more than enough errors to irritate the most patient reader. Missing words and garbled sentences abound; at one point, ‘eluded’ is used when ‘alluded’ is meant; a gazebo is severed into ‘two halves’.
Explanatory clauses and qualifying statements in parentheses (like this) run amuck, page after page. Throughout, swarms of self-referential questions infest passages of free indirect discourse, concluding paragraphs or else nesting in their midst. This overuse of an otherwise effective rhetorical device becomes wearing and predictable, so that it ceases to function. Eventually, about half-way through the book, they become merely amusing, as we wait for their inevitable arrival.
Themes of race and age, love and creativity struggle in vain for precise articulation throughout A Mentor and Her Muse. ‘What is this white woman up to?’ asks Tae of Maggie, but the question is hopelessly underdetermined. Maggie is, I think, meant to be taken seriously, but she is irritatingly naïve: ‘So I, too, have known something of racism and discovered what a hell on earth it truly is!’ For a middle-aged white woman like Maggie – no matter how observant, sensitive and ‘concerned’ – to make such a claim is frankly derisory, particularly as it is uttered after a marginally uncomfortable experience at a school committee meeting. Hell indeed.
A Mentor and Her Muse would benefit from a lot more dialogue. Assertions of states of affairs become dull and repetitive when they are used to the exclusion of so much else, depriving us of artistry and nuance. These assertions are hurled at the reader, many of them out of nowhere, and we have to take them on trust.
‘As much as Tyler wishes he could spend more time with Tae, it’s been amazing getting to know Maggie.’ There is precious little evidence for this amazement: if only Tyler had been allowed to say this for himself, so that we could see his feelings grow; if only we could know that his heart beat quicker and his eyes shone. But we don’t. Similarly with ‘More than once he’s thought about putting the place up for sale, much as he hated to even think of it.’ If he’d only expressed these doubts to someone, so we could see them evolve, then they would become real. But they’re not.
Maggie’s sister Caroline arrives for reasons best known to herself, at which point there is potential for conflict and dramatic interaction. Instead, we are provided with more dull exposition.
We don’t get to know any of these characters because they seldom reveal themselves in any other way. Thus, Sulie, a relatively marginal character, is a mix of personality traits and motivations that make her ridiculously unbelievable and incoherent. Maggie and Tae’s compulsion to write seems like empty and self-important posturing.
Every bit of information this stylistic approach conveys is given the same emotional weight. It fails to provide a path through the narrative: everything becomes equally unimportant, with no highs or lows, and the reader ceases to care. That’s a great shame.
November 3, 2019
4 Stars
A Mentor and Her Muse intrigued me from the moment I saw the cover. I was going to read it no matter what, but the blurb certainly sealed the deal for me. Colour me intrigued! This is my first read from Susan Sage, so I really had no idea of what to expect from her. Having finished the story, I am happy to report that I will be stalking, scratch that, I mean ‘following’ Ms. Sage’s work now, and into the future.
This story has a lot going on in it- but Susan Sage choreograph the whole thing superbly. From the complex characters, to the complicated situations, emotive elements, the ‘psychological’ character study, the thought provoking nature of the relationship… and storyline, to the philosophical undertone to the story- as well as all the other clever and creative elements Ms. Sage has textured her story with- made for quite an engrossing and memorable read.
There were times I felt very unsettled by what I was reading- feeling like the mentor/mentee relationship was blurring lines which should not be crossed. But I think that is/was Ms. Sage’s intent the whole way through. She certainly had me paying attention, and gave me plenty to think about.
We certainly get a front row seat to all the highs and lows, and other developments as they happen. I felt like a passenger, along for the trip.
The character development, growth, and/or unravelling, was so well done. These individuals were crafted into ‘being’- with their own unique personalities, quirks, and flaws. Ms. Sage gives us vastly different perspectives to follow, and keeps each one on point- not an easy task shifting from the mindset of a 53 year old woman- to that of a teenage girl. So, amongst other things, I am really impressed with her character development skills.
The story has quite and artistic/poetic feel to it- which really suited the characters and storyline. Now I am really looking forward to seeing what Ms. Sage does next!
Thank you, Ms. Sage!
A Mentor and Her Muse intrigued me from the moment I saw the cover. I was going to read it no matter what, but the blurb certainly sealed the deal for me. Colour me intrigued! This is my first read from Susan Sage, so I really had no idea of what to expect from her. Having finished the story, I am happy to report that I will be stalking, scratch that, I mean ‘following’ Ms. Sage’s work now, and into the future.
This story has a lot going on in it- but Susan Sage choreograph the whole thing superbly. From the complex characters, to the complicated situations, emotive elements, the ‘psychological’ character study, the thought provoking nature of the relationship… and storyline, to the philosophical undertone to the story- as well as all the other clever and creative elements Ms. Sage has textured her story with- made for quite an engrossing and memorable read.
There were times I felt very unsettled by what I was reading- feeling like the mentor/mentee relationship was blurring lines which should not be crossed. But I think that is/was Ms. Sage’s intent the whole way through. She certainly had me paying attention, and gave me plenty to think about.
We certainly get a front row seat to all the highs and lows, and other developments as they happen. I felt like a passenger, along for the trip.
The character development, growth, and/or unravelling, was so well done. These individuals were crafted into ‘being’- with their own unique personalities, quirks, and flaws. Ms. Sage gives us vastly different perspectives to follow, and keeps each one on point- not an easy task shifting from the mindset of a 53 year old woman- to that of a teenage girl. So, amongst other things, I am really impressed with her character development skills.
The story has quite and artistic/poetic feel to it- which really suited the characters and storyline. Now I am really looking forward to seeing what Ms. Sage does next!
Thank you, Ms. Sage!
Currently reading
September 7, 2018Ms. Sage has written an exciting and very unique story filled with unusual plots and themes. I really enjoyed discovering where the story was going next! Susan is a gifted writer and I can't wait for her next novel!! Well done!
January 17, 2018
Author Susan Sage has a talent for description that invites the reader into this book's world. Sage gives us a main character who grows as the pages go by, and works in a journalistic way for part of the book.
The book realistically portrays a young adult in Maggie, the main character, and that is no small feat. Often, the result in many books feels strained, but not so here. Moreover, the book tackles some complex issues when it comes to race and maturity, and does so in a way that is natural to the narrative and does not feel tacked-on.
The book realistically portrays a young adult in Maggie, the main character, and that is no small feat. Often, the result in many books feels strained, but not so here. Moreover, the book tackles some complex issues when it comes to race and maturity, and does so in a way that is natural to the narrative and does not feel tacked-on.
May 21, 2019
A Mentor and Her Muse blends stream of consciousness with chick lit and road trip story through the unusual and changing relationship between a teacher and student, both from dysfunctional families. That blend makes this book unique. The psychological thriller element would have been stronger if the narrative had started at the moment the road trip began. This is a book for natives of mid-Michigan, free spirits, and creative writers; others are likely to find the stream of consciousness style and switching between perspectives overwhelming. DISCLOSURE: I received a copy of this book directly from the author in exchange for a copy of my memoir.
June 21, 2018
I really enjoyed this book.
The author builds tension as the road trip goes on (although it would drive me nuts to travel just a few hours each day I would have made that trip in a day).
The tension between the two ebbs and flows, but never reaches a breaking point, but remains unresolved, causing the relationship between the two women to evolve in strange ways.
The ending is quite realistic, and satisfying.
A lot of SE Michigan references throughout, which was a nice touch.
Good read, hard to put down.
The author builds tension as the road trip goes on (although it would drive me nuts to travel just a few hours each day I would have made that trip in a day).
The tension between the two ebbs and flows, but never reaches a breaking point, but remains unresolved, causing the relationship between the two women to evolve in strange ways.
The ending is quite realistic, and satisfying.
A lot of SE Michigan references throughout, which was a nice touch.
Good read, hard to put down.
May 22, 2018
Taezha Riverton, a young girl who wants to become a writer. She lives in Flint Michigan. She's a bright girl, a talented young writer, and according to Maggie, an "intellectually curious" young girl. She lives with her mother and three sisters, although she questions whether Quintana is actually her mother. Taezha befriends Maggie Bennett, a woman in her 50's who works at the school Taezha attends. Taezha (Tae) has discovered in Maggie something that has been missing since her Aunt Serafina died. She looks to Maggie as an Aunt, and she finally feels like someone cares about her.
Maggie Barnett works at Jefferson Middle & High School in the library. She has met several smart and talented students, but none have effected her as Tae has. Maggie is a woman who is rarely settled in her life, she published a book and just about the time she thought it was beginning to take off and become a top seller, it stopped. Maggie decides that she wants to take Tae on a road trip and help her become a great writer by seeing life and living in on the road. She also tells Tae that she will take her to meet her Uncle Tyler, a very good friend of Tae's Aunt Serafina.
This was a different story from what I normally read, but it was a good read. I found myself questioning Maggie's motives of going on the road trip with Tae. Was she really looking at Tae as her Muse, or was she trying to find something that was missing from her life, like a family? It is clear that Maggie cares for Tae, but is it a healthy relationship for either of them? Is Maggie trying to recover her youth, her writing, or a family that she was denied for so many years due to her lack of finding the right man for her, and the fact that she has no living children of her own. I give this book a 4 star review. Ms. Sage did a great job of painting the picture for this book. Her description of Maggie was so detailed that I could almost see her in front of me.
If you enjoy women's fiction and psychological novels, this is a good book to read. It a book about social norms, obsession, and the ambition to succeed.
Maggie Barnett works at Jefferson Middle & High School in the library. She has met several smart and talented students, but none have effected her as Tae has. Maggie is a woman who is rarely settled in her life, she published a book and just about the time she thought it was beginning to take off and become a top seller, it stopped. Maggie decides that she wants to take Tae on a road trip and help her become a great writer by seeing life and living in on the road. She also tells Tae that she will take her to meet her Uncle Tyler, a very good friend of Tae's Aunt Serafina.
This was a different story from what I normally read, but it was a good read. I found myself questioning Maggie's motives of going on the road trip with Tae. Was she really looking at Tae as her Muse, or was she trying to find something that was missing from her life, like a family? It is clear that Maggie cares for Tae, but is it a healthy relationship for either of them? Is Maggie trying to recover her youth, her writing, or a family that she was denied for so many years due to her lack of finding the right man for her, and the fact that she has no living children of her own. I give this book a 4 star review. Ms. Sage did a great job of painting the picture for this book. Her description of Maggie was so detailed that I could almost see her in front of me.
If you enjoy women's fiction and psychological novels, this is a good book to read. It a book about social norms, obsession, and the ambition to succeed.
February 13, 2024
Crossing the Line
Author Susan Sage’s ‘ A Mentor and Her Muse’ is a reader’s psychological mine field. The lines of distinction between mentor and muse are blurred, skewing Maggie Barnett’s purpose for shanghaiing her protégé, Taezha Riverton, to embark on a summer road trip together for the primary purpose of honing Tae’s writing ability.
Along this journey, the author cleverly drops bread crumbs via Maggie’s journal writing or her dissociative thoughts: failed relationships, writer’s block, poor self-image, flitting from one idea to another, kleptomania, and what she was doing on Hocking Hill Bridge.
The reader not only questions Maggie’s judgment and suppressed intents toward Tae, but unwittingly becomes her judge and jury.
All is not what it seems in Tae’s life either. Tyler, Serafina, and Quintana play an important role in fostering her hopes and disappointments. Then, there’s Maggie’s sister Caroline, and the mysterious Sulie who vex her to no end.
Besides crossed lines and twisted outlooks, the author adds authenticity to the initial setting of Detroit and Flint Michigan by bringing up the aftermath of the Sixties’ riots.
True to life, the outcome of the story is up for speculation, allowing the reader to suppose. In my supposing, I care more for how Tae will continue to hold her ground.
I heartily recommend ‘A Mentor and Her Muse’ for the musings it inspires.
Author Susan Sage’s ‘ A Mentor and Her Muse’ is a reader’s psychological mine field. The lines of distinction between mentor and muse are blurred, skewing Maggie Barnett’s purpose for shanghaiing her protégé, Taezha Riverton, to embark on a summer road trip together for the primary purpose of honing Tae’s writing ability.
Along this journey, the author cleverly drops bread crumbs via Maggie’s journal writing or her dissociative thoughts: failed relationships, writer’s block, poor self-image, flitting from one idea to another, kleptomania, and what she was doing on Hocking Hill Bridge.
The reader not only questions Maggie’s judgment and suppressed intents toward Tae, but unwittingly becomes her judge and jury.
All is not what it seems in Tae’s life either. Tyler, Serafina, and Quintana play an important role in fostering her hopes and disappointments. Then, there’s Maggie’s sister Caroline, and the mysterious Sulie who vex her to no end.
Besides crossed lines and twisted outlooks, the author adds authenticity to the initial setting of Detroit and Flint Michigan by bringing up the aftermath of the Sixties’ riots.
True to life, the outcome of the story is up for speculation, allowing the reader to suppose. In my supposing, I care more for how Tae will continue to hold her ground.
I heartily recommend ‘A Mentor and Her Muse’ for the musings it inspires.
February 17, 2018
This was an intriguing novel. The protagonist, Maggie, is a middle-aged failed writer who has one published novel under her belt, but has produced nothing since. To make ends meet, she works in the local high school media center. Approaching menopause, she is alone, lonely, and frustrated. Tae is a 15-year-old black girl who is a student at the school. She is talented and vivacious and Maggie develops an overwhelming obsession with her, befriending the family and encouraging the young girl to become a writer. With a sort of nebulous approval from the girl’s mother, Maggie takes the teen and sets off on a road trip of discovery.
This novel started off great. Both of the main characters were interesting, multi-dimensional, and realistically portrayed. However, as the story wore on, I found myself getting bogged down. This, I attribute to the fact that the story is told almost completely in narrative – there is no dialogue. Hence, for me, it fell flat in the middle and it was a chore to keep reading. I also didn’t understand at all the character of Sulie and what she was meant to represent in the story.
It’s an interesting read with multiple points of view. However, it was not my cup of tea.
I received a free copy of this novel as part of Library Thing’s Early Reviewer Program.
This novel started off great. Both of the main characters were interesting, multi-dimensional, and realistically portrayed. However, as the story wore on, I found myself getting bogged down. This, I attribute to the fact that the story is told almost completely in narrative – there is no dialogue. Hence, for me, it fell flat in the middle and it was a chore to keep reading. I also didn’t understand at all the character of Sulie and what she was meant to represent in the story.
It’s an interesting read with multiple points of view. However, it was not my cup of tea.
I received a free copy of this novel as part of Library Thing’s Early Reviewer Program.
March 2, 2021
What is behind the door?
What’s behind this intriguing story?! I loved the cover from the moment I saw it. But after reading the book, it is my belief the cover is as symbolic as the narrative pointing to something much deeper than a pretty cover.
This book has an easy-to-read style, plenty of dialogue and drama to keep you turning pages as the story moves along without sagging. It tackles social, racial, sexual and psychological issues with plenty of sketchy behavior that would have anybody doubting their sanity.
It is said, those who cannot do teach, and a muse is the source of inspiration. Young, talented, envied, and well-loved by friends, Taehza is everything Maggie isn’t. Mistaking obsession for mentoring, Maggie, the school librarian, tries to live vicariously through Taehza’s youth and creativity. At first Taehza is delighted and flattered with all the attention paid to her by her teacher, but the situation turns drastic when Maggie takes Tae on a trip without her parent’s consent and they spend every minute together over the road. Conflict abounds in this story not only between these deeply flawed characters, but within themselves. Will their relationship take a desperate turn or do they come out on top? You’ll need to read this psychological fiction story for yourself to find out.
What’s behind this intriguing story?! I loved the cover from the moment I saw it. But after reading the book, it is my belief the cover is as symbolic as the narrative pointing to something much deeper than a pretty cover.
This book has an easy-to-read style, plenty of dialogue and drama to keep you turning pages as the story moves along without sagging. It tackles social, racial, sexual and psychological issues with plenty of sketchy behavior that would have anybody doubting their sanity.
It is said, those who cannot do teach, and a muse is the source of inspiration. Young, talented, envied, and well-loved by friends, Taehza is everything Maggie isn’t. Mistaking obsession for mentoring, Maggie, the school librarian, tries to live vicariously through Taehza’s youth and creativity. At first Taehza is delighted and flattered with all the attention paid to her by her teacher, but the situation turns drastic when Maggie takes Tae on a trip without her parent’s consent and they spend every minute together over the road. Conflict abounds in this story not only between these deeply flawed characters, but within themselves. Will their relationship take a desperate turn or do they come out on top? You’ll need to read this psychological fiction story for yourself to find out.
May 12, 2018
I received a copy of A Mentor and Her Muse via the author in exchange for my honest review.
It took me a while to get through this one, both due to personal reasons and to what I felt was lacking in the story.
I felt like something was missing the whole time I was reading. I’m not sure if I was looking too much into it but I felt like it was leading up to a huge plot twist and then nothing came of it. I feel a little let down and almost mislead? I mean, it’s just a little too picture perfect, especially the ending. It doesn’t really make sense and it’s hard to wrap your head around. Very anticlimactic.
The cover is unique and it is what initially drew me to this story, along with the synopsis. It almost reads like a biography with it’s gentle, rolling ease. It’s definitely unique, but not as suspenseful as you would think due to the synopsis.
It took me a while to get through this one, both due to personal reasons and to what I felt was lacking in the story.
I felt like something was missing the whole time I was reading. I’m not sure if I was looking too much into it but I felt like it was leading up to a huge plot twist and then nothing came of it. I feel a little let down and almost mislead? I mean, it’s just a little too picture perfect, especially the ending. It doesn’t really make sense and it’s hard to wrap your head around. Very anticlimactic.
The cover is unique and it is what initially drew me to this story, along with the synopsis. It almost reads like a biography with it’s gentle, rolling ease. It’s definitely unique, but not as suspenseful as you would think due to the synopsis.
May 20, 2023
Story was anxiety producing. Maggie, the primary protagonist, takes Tae, 15 years old, on a prolonged road road trip with the goal of reaching Tae's "Uncle Tyler" in North Carolina. Maggie, a library media assistant in Taeh's school sees Tae's potential as a writer and wants to take Tae away from her chaotic home, headed by a mother who was an alcoholic and drug user. Maggie had a book published many years ago and has not been able to write another book.She perceived that she and Tae had writing in common. Maggie wanted to mentor Tae and have Tae be an inspiration to her, hence her muse.
I was concerned about Maggie's intentions regarding her relationship with Tae, that it would be more than Mentor and muse. I expected a dramatic ending and was somewhat disappointed it was not. To me, Maggie had mental health issues that surfaced through out the book.
I was concerned about Maggie's intentions regarding her relationship with Tae, that it would be more than Mentor and muse. I expected a dramatic ending and was somewhat disappointed it was not. To me, Maggie had mental health issues that surfaced through out the book.
June 13, 2018
When offered a free copy for review by both the publisher and independently from the author, A Mentor and Her Muse had a deceptively enticing story. Marketed as a psychological thriller with racial and sexual tensions juxtaposed with the art of writing, I wanted to know more.
Unfortunately, not only did the title fall short in interest and editing, but I also found myself sick to my stomach with the poor discussion and depictions of race. Over and over again, I questioned the stereotypes and information provided. Sage's title demonstrates how not to write a book about race and sadly exemplifies white privilege in literature. You can read my full review here:
http://bit.ly/UncorkedHowNotToWriteAb...
Unfortunately, not only did the title fall short in interest and editing, but I also found myself sick to my stomach with the poor discussion and depictions of race. Over and over again, I questioned the stereotypes and information provided. Sage's title demonstrates how not to write a book about race and sadly exemplifies white privilege in literature. You can read my full review here:
http://bit.ly/UncorkedHowNotToWriteAb...
April 30, 2024
"A Mentor and Her Muse" is a captivating journey through the intricate relationship between mentorship and creativity. The author skillfully intertwines the narratives of a seasoned mentor and her inspired muse, drawing readers into a world where guidance meets inspiration. With eloquent prose and nuanced character development, the story explores themes of growth, ambition, and the transformative power of mentorship. Each page is imbued with wisdom and insight, leaving readers pondering the complexities of artistic pursuit and the profound impact of mentorship on both mentor and mentee. A poignant and thought-provoking read that lingers long after the final page.
March 24, 2018
I really enjoyed the conflict between Maggie and Tae. It added a lot of tension to the plot overall. I wasn't too big a fan of the way the journal entries were written. A full review can be found on my blog, linked below.
https://skyviewbookreviews.wordpress....
https://skyviewbookreviews.wordpress....
July 31, 2018
I read only 30% but it got sooooo boring. I was waiting for some more action but I just can’t anymore... Sorry, but my TBR list is too long and my life is too short to waste it on trying to finish this book. I don’t know, maybe I’m just not in the mood at the moment, I may even give this book another try in the future. For now I have no more patience left.
January 27, 2025
Compelling and intimate portrayal of a woman searching for her own self under the guise of mentoring a much younger woman, an adolescent, really. Although we read both from the mentor’s and the muse’s viewpoints, Maggie the mentor drives the story where we get glimpses into her background—an attempted suicide, failed relationships with men, and her dysfunctional family. We discover, too, the struggles of Tae, the young muse and a startling revelation about her father. Discovering what each of them searches for in the other fascinated me. If you enjoy psychological. character-driven novels, you’ll find much to admire in A Mentor and her Muse.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews