Review of Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven

This peek behind the scenes of a fictional 1960s sitcom is layered with the complex issues of the changing world at that time for women, people of color, gay people, and others. Niven doesn't make characters' paths to self-actualization too easy, but there's a sense that everything will turn out in some version of a happy ending.

Del and Dinah Newman, along with their sons Guy and Shep, have been mainstays on the TV for years. Their wholesome, bighearted, clean-cut show has long been easy viewing, with everything turning out all right each week and with the traditional Newmans happily settled by the end of each episode.

Now it's 1964, and times are changing for women, people of color, gay people, and society in general. But Del and the show's sponsors are determined to plug along as they always have.

When Del suffers an accident and is unable to run the show, the rest of the Newmans make excuses for his absence to the network and sponsors--and take it upon themselves to make sure the show goes on. But Dinah, Guy, and Shep have new directions in mind to close out what might be the very end of Meet the Newmans. And if Del wakes up, he's going to be as shocked as the sponsors that the rest of the Newmans are pushing the envelope at last.

A subplot involves a female newspaper reporter's struggles for bylines and respect and her bond with Dinah. The women make a rocky start but forge an unlikely, formative friendship with each other.

I loved Niven's exploration of feminism and strong women, characters' rethinking of the dynamics of some longstanding relationships, and the behind-the-scenes peeks at a fictional television world. Dinah is the star of the novel, and I loved her zigzagging journey toward self-actualization.

I also just love Niven's writing and the tone of her novels. I feel like I'm in good hands when I read them, and I'm in for all of her books.

More from Jennifer Niven

Jennifer Niven is also the author of All the Bright Places, a young adult novel I adored, Holding Up the Universe, Breathless, When We Were Monsters, and other books.